Villa, Belgium striker Benteke out for up 8 weeks

Villa, Belgium striker Benteke out for up 8 weeks

Published Sep. 24, 2013 8:29 p.m. ET

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke will be out for up to six weeks, ruling him out of Belgium's final World Cup qualifiers.

Benteke injured his hip during Villa's 1-0 victory over Norwich in the Premier League on Saturday.

Villa manager Paul Lambert says ''it is not as bad as we feared it was going to be. Maybe four, five, six weeks or so.''

While Lambert says ''the international break certainly helps us,'' the injury is a setback for Belgium.

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Belgium is top of its World Cup qualifying group, with a five-point lead over Croatia going into the final two matches.

Belgium plays in Croatia on Oct. 11 and hosts Wales on Oct. 15 as it looks to secure a spot at the finals in Brazil.

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