Darren Bent

Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has admitted he is honoured to be handed the No.19 shirt at Villa Park, the shirt previously worn by Stiliyan Petrov.

The number 19 shirt was retired for a season after the former Villa captain was diagnosed with leukemia.

However Bent has now been issued the number after the Bulgarian ace returned to fitness following his battle with the blood disease.

The striker said: "Obviously No.19 carries a big significance because of Stiliyan. It's a real honour to wear it.

"It's a fantastic feeling. I will try and do the shirt proud and do as well as I can in it.

"What a great player Stiliyan was - he's a top bloke too. He was superb - a brilliant midfielder and a real leader in that dressing room.

"It was awful to see what he had to go through and it was terrible to see his career cut short but he won the real battle.

"He's still around the place. I see him at the training ground quite regularly. We still speak on the phone regularly.

"He told me to look after the shirt - and I promised him I would."

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