Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is keeping his fingers crossed that the injury picked up by Darren Bent while on England duty proves not to be too serious.

Bent will miss Tuesday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro with an abductor muscle injury.

The in-form striker was set to partner Wayne Rooney up front in a rare England start and had admitted to being "gutted" and "angry" at his untimely injury setback.

Bent had impressed Fabio Capello after scoring seven goals in nine club appearances this season.

His availability is now a concern for Black Cats boss Bruce ahead of Saturday's Premier League encounter with Blackburn Rovers.

"Benty's had a scan and England have confirmed he won't play any part tonight," Bruce told his club's official website.

"We're hoping it's not too serious but Darren's still with England at the moment so we won't put any time-scales until our own medical team have had a chance to assess the injury."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email