Aston Villa youngster Chris Herd has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

The 21-year old Australian U20 international injured his knee playing for League Two club Lincoln City where is currently on loan and will not be available for any further matches this season.

Herd returned to Villa Park yesterday for scans and will be assessed according to Lincoln physio Michael Wait.

"He picked up the injury in a tackle (in the 3-1 loss to Notts County) and the initial prognosis is not good with the injury looking quite bad," Wait said.

"He has returned to Villa this morning (on Wednesday) where he will have a scan and be assessed by their medical team."

Herd had been on loan at Sincil Bank since November last year and had been impressive for the Imps, scoring four goals in 19 appearances.