Aston Villa are crying out for a hero but sadly record signing Darren Bent can not answer their calls.

Manager Alex McLeish asked the prolific striker whether he could take any part in the final two games of the season but the England man had to decline.

The under-fire boss needs a slice of good fortune as his side battles to avoid the dreaded drop to the Championship so he checked on the fitness of the 28-year-old this week.

However Bent had to say no to a possible return against his former club, Tottenham, on Sunday and also rule out any chance of a return in the final game of the season at Norwich.

McLeish said to Bent: ‘Are you ready to go on the bench at the weekend or something?’

“He said: ‘No, not quite, but I’m making good progress, so boss it might be too soon’.

“I don’t believe there’s a chance of him playing again for Villa this season.”

Villa have scored just seven goals in the ten Premier League games since Bent badly damaged his ankle ligaments in the draw at Wigan at the end of February.

But McLeish is not prepared to risk aggravating the injury by rushing the nine-goal leading scorer back ahead of schedule before he is completely ready.

Instead, the striker will target the Euros with Roy Hodgson’s appointment as England boss, ahead of Bent’s nemesis Harry Redknapp, boosting his prospects.

“We have to make sure he gets back good and proper,” said McLeish.

“The doc thinks he’s got a chance for the Euros though, so he’s talking about four or five weeks.