Aston Villa have confirmed that Richard Dunne is likely to miss the next eight weeks of football after fracturing his right shoulder on Sunday.

Dunne: Suffered injury on Sunday

Dunne suffered the injury in Sunday's Premier League leaders Manchester City after falling heavily when challenging England keeper Joe Hart for a cross. The defender will undergo surgery in Birmingham later on Monday.

A club statement confirmed: "Richard Dunne sustained a fracture to his right clavicle in the game against Manchester City.

"He will undergo an operation today in Birmingham. It is anticipated that he will be sidelined for up to eight weeks."

It was the second blow suffered by Villa over the weekend after Ciaran Clark damaged knee ligaments after nothing more than catching his studs in the turf during training on Saturday.

At a time when it is all hands to the pump for Villa following a wretched run of just two wins in their last nine Premier League games, Alex McLeish can ill afford to be losing players.

"It's part of the bad luck we've been having recently," he said.

Without a home win since November 5 - a run of five defeats and two draws - these are worrying times for Villa who are just seven points above the relegation zone.

McLeish said after Sunday's game: "Our home record is pretty abysmal.

"I'm disappointed with that because in my managerial career I pride myself with home performances, and the current one isn't good enough.

"No club under 40 points can afford to be complacent in this league. Everybody is going to have a right go, and it's going to be a big fight."

It could prove too much for some fans, up to 100 of whom voiced their concerns before kick off with a protest against McLeish.

There were a few banners and a few chants denouncing the Scot, but they were a small minority as the vast majority are preferring to give him a chance and get behind the team in its hour of need.

"I thought the fans inside the ground were brilliant," said McLeish.

"I said to the players in the team talk that the fans want them to sweat blood when they are wearing the jersey, and we have to show we are prepared to do that."

One good piece of news is that midfielder Chris Herd returned to full training on Monday having recovered from an ankle ligament injury which has left him sidelined since December.

He will be available for the game against Wigan on February 25.