Bent: My injury problem doesn’t matter any more
LONDON:
Darren Bent (pic) has good reason to feel sorry for himself.
The Aston Villa and England striker is out for the rest of the season which surely means he will miss Euro 2012, too.
And after being left behind for the World Cup in South Africa two years ago, that must be tough for him to take.
But Bent is not praying every day for his own speedy return after ankle surgery.
He is pleading for Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba and Villa team-mate Stiliyan Petrov to make miraculous recoveries.
Bent, 28, said: “It certainly puts everything into perspective for me.
“I’m sitting here worrying if I’m going to be back playing again in eight weeks’ time while Stan and Fabrice are fighting for their lives.
“How can I get all beat up about my problems when those guys are fighting tooth and nail to survive?
“That’s why I’m praying every day they are on the mend again very soon.”
Bent has been so impressed by the way both the stricken stars have faced up to their personal battles.
And he has been uplifted by the reaction of fans everywhere since Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest at White Hart Lane last month and then to the news last week that Petrov has acute leukaemia.
Bent added: “It has really surprised me but it’s fantastic.
“We are all so used to football fans being criticised. But so many have come together and are supporting the two lads.
“Basically they are saying ‘We are all in it together’ – and that’s every football team, not just here but around the world.
“We have seen Barcelona players wearing Fabrice T- shirts and Chelsea players wearing ‘Get well Stan’ tops.
“I must admit it’s all brought a lump to my throat.”
Only after talking at length about the plight of his fellow pros will Bent address his own 10-week fight for fitness after damaging ankle ligaments at Wigan on Feb 25.
The striker admitted: “It’s frustrating big-time. It’s the first serious injury of my career and the timing could not be worse. We are coming to crunch time in the season and Villa are fighting for survival.
“Of course I want to be out there helping but it doesn’t look like I’ll play again this season.
“That means I’ll probably be missing the Euros too, so it’s a big blow.”