Gabriel Agbonlahor has insisted that he can fill the void left by Darren Bent for Aston Villa and England.
Bent, who is the top scorer at Villa Park this season with 10 goals, will miss the remainder of his club's Premier League campaign after he underwent ankle ligament surgery following an injury sustained at Wigan Athletic in February.
The £24m signing from Sunderland has scored four times in 13 appearances for the Three Lions and had been expected to be named in the squad for Euro 2012.
As he will not return to training until May, the 28-year-old is now likely to miss out this summer but Agbonlahor, who had been playing on the right side of midfield while Bent was in the side, is confident that he can prove himself as an able replacement.
"It will affect the team, losing a striker like Darren. But it helps me being put back in a position I enjoy playing in [and] which I can play better than my other positions," Agbonlahor told The Mirror.
"I am happy to get this chance now to play the rest of the season up front.
"Hopefully if I can push on in these last 11 games and we have the right performances, then I will also get into that England squad."
Aston Villa have scored 30 goals in 27 league games this season.
Robert Summerscales
