Bent has been struggling with thigh and groin problems which forced him to sit out Sunday's 2-0 defeat by Liverpool, and the 2-1 loss against Arsenal. But McLeish hopes to welcome back his record signing when Villa visit the Britannia Stadium on Monday. "Benty is very close. I'd like to think he's round the corner now," he told the club's official website. "We thought he might be ready for the Arsenal game but he was still feeling it a little bit over the last couple of days. "But I'd hope with treatment and rest that he will be ready to come back. We are certainly expecting him to be ready for Monday." Fellow striker Emile Heskey (Achilles) and central defender James Collins (knee) are also winning their races to be in contention for the trip to the Britannia Stadium. McLeish said: "With Heskey, we think he should be ready. Collins should be okay. He trained this morning and we had to stop him doing extra. "He is one of these guys who wants to do extra but, because he has had a bit of a niggly knee we told him to go inside, but he should be ready." McLeish is not expecting to be involved in any major business during the January transfer window. He said: "Whether there will be any trading in January remains to be seen - but I don't expect to be too busy."
