Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has issued an apology on Twitter after fans registered their displeasure as a picture, apparently of the striker shopping on Sunday, surfaced online.
Villa lost their game against Liverpool 2-0 and were second best for much of the game in the absence of the suspended Gabriel Agbonlahor and strike partner Bent who picked up a thigh injury in training on Tuesday.
Manager Alex McLeish kept Bent's injury under wraps from the media ahead of the game and defended his decision after the game.
He said: ''Darren had a scan during the week. It confirmed he had a grade one injury, I didn't reveal it because I wanted to keep things back from Liverpool. You have to understand that. I didn't want Liverpool knowing our starting line-up. If players are injured, I don't necessarily think we have to declare that they are injured.''
But Bent was forced to respond to criticism on the social networking site after he was seen picking up some last-minute Christmas shopping while the game was on.
He said: ''Nothing is more important to me than playing football, sadly injury meant I wasn't able to do that today. Gutted not to be involved. I hope to be back very soon. Watched the majority of the game on TV. Never knew popping out would cause an issue and for that I apologise.''
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Comments
no wonder he didn't want to watch it, Villa were awful.
however, why wasn't he at the game?
this should be moved to the "New striker in January" thread
Darren Bent is always a story to proper Charlton supporters.
I wouldn't know.
I bumped into Kev Dowling the other night in The Beehive. He's back at Barclays!
Benty will be taking his missus out to dinner next. Complete reprobate.
FFS.
Send him to us.
I know Villa fans aren't liking McLeish though and reckon they've might've had a bust up
Think it's ridiculous that he's getting stick for going shopping, the Villa fans seem to be a strange bunch can't understand why they were booing Downing at the weekend either because he's moved on to a bigger and better club in Liverpool that his form deserved and given the direction Villa were and are heading in who can blame him?
Bent deserves to be playing in a better team right now and a commentator or pundit said the other week that the season Villa are having 'wasn't in the brochure' when he joined and I agree, hope he moves on in January because it would be a shame and outrageous if he isn't England's number 1 striker for at least the first two matches of the Euros.
He was treated unfairly at Spurs and sulked his way into a move to Sunderland and within 18 months (?) had pleaded his way out into a move to Villa. I don't know how they feel about him at Ipswich but we seem to be the only fans that hold him in high regard. Recently I've started to wonder if we still would if there had been twitter when he was here