CHRIS Herd will be out for at least another month with the ankle injury which has put his impressive breakthrough season on hold.

Herd has not played since ending his seven-match run in Alex McLeish’s first team in the early-December victory at Bolton.

The Aussie utility man had made a midfield holding role his own after forcing his way into the starting XI alongside captain Stiliyan Petrov.

But Herd’s ankle ligament injury is worse than first feared and the best case scenario is he will return in another four weeks.

Villa’s medical staff will have a better idea later this week when the 22-year-old removes the protective boot he has been wearing.

“It’s a slighter longer term one with Chris, so he’s still missing,” said McLeish.

“I don’t really have a timescale as such for that.

‘‘He’s got the boot on again and it depends how he feels when he takes that off. That’s going to be the key.

“The last time he took it off it was still sore. It’s a ligament in his ankle. It’s a kind of awkward one, it’s not like one when you’d usually turn your ankle on the outside.

“It’s kind of happened a wee bit on the inside. I don’t know whether it’s the way he’s landed or something.

“If they take the boot off and he’s not got any discomfort then it could be another month.”