Hendrie considers loan move

Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie will consider leaving the club on loan after admitting his first-team opportunities are becoming increasingly limited.

The 29-year-old is Villa’s longest serving player and made his debut in the 1995/1996 season.

However, such is Villa’s strength in midfield following Stilian Petrov’s arrival that captain Gareth Barry has been squeezed out of Martin O’Neill’s central three and switched to left-back.

Under such circumstances, Hendrie admits his best option might be to try to impress O’Neill while gaining first-team experience at another club.

Any such move will have to wait until Hendrie recovers from a calf injury, but the loan option is one to which Barry is agreeable.

He told club website www.avfc.co.uk: “I’d sooner be playing in our team, but my chances are quite limited and that could be an opening I may have to consider because I want some games under my belt.”

The calf injury has caused Hendrie considerable frustration, and he added: “It’s been awful for me so far and I need something to change. I need some good fortune because I feel the lowest of the low at the moment.

“I’ve lost another opportunity to show the new gaffer what I can do. This has just topped it off after what happened last season.

“I was hoping for a fresh start but I’ve had a couple of niggling injuries which have set me back. That’s the story of my luck over the last 18 months.

“It’s good around the club and it’s great the new gaffer has come in. He’s very good, but it’s hard not being able to show him what I can do.”