International break already giving injury boost to beleagured Aston Villa

Christian Benteke limped off of the pitch near the end of Saturday's Aston Villa match against Swansea, and many fans thought feared the worst. He had clearly injured his hip, a body part that had already kept him out of the FA Cup quarter-final match against West Bromwich Albion two weeks earlier and after the match Tim Sherwood had no idea how long he would be out for. It turns out the answer to that question might only be a matter of days.

Benteke has said that he's fit and ready to play for Belgium during this week's international break, according to the Birmingham Mail. Marc Wilmots' team is set to take on Cyprus and Israel in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively.

While the news that Benteke is ready to play is obviously a boost for Aston Villa, the fact that he's rushing into playing so soon after having to come off is a bit worrisome. Benteke is likely eager to make a mark on the Belgian squad after having to miss the World Cup last summer, but he's starting to pick up a bit of a reputation as someone who gets injured a lot. While Euro qualifier matches are important, as an Aston Villa fan I couldn't care less what happens to Belgium if it means that our star striker (and quite possibly our key to Premier League survival) goes out with an international break injury.

So go ahead and play, Christian, but be careful with yourself. We don't want another Philippe Senderos on our hands.