Pardew confirms Bent Injury

Alan Pardew has confirmed Darren Bent would be missing for a few weeks but insists he does not need an operation to cure his knee ligament damage.

Speaking after the 4-0 defeat by Arsenal, Pardew said: ‘Darren sustained an injury early in the game against Villa but we didn’t think much of it until he went home and had a reaction.

‘The scan shows that the ligaments have been strained but it certainly doesn’t warrant an operation.

‘But he will need rest for a ligament repair. It is not like it is short term. His injury is pivotal because we cannot afford to lose a player of that calibre for too long. The next week will tell me how bad that injury is and how it is going to affect us.’

Pardew is now likely to dip into the transfer market to find a striker to cover for Bent’s injury.