Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has confirmed that Idrissa Gueye has flown to France to meet with a specialist regarding his hamstring injury.

The 25-year-old midfielder, who was absent from Villa's last two fixtures, will play no part in Tuesday's Capital One Cup tie against Birmingham City.

"He's gone back to France to see a specialist he knows there who he's confident with, we're waiting to hear from him today and hopefully he'll give us some positive news," Sherwood told PA.

"We thought he was going to play on Saturday, but he got injured again in training on Friday with a re-occurrence of the hamstring injury.

"It is disappointing because, out of all the players we have brought in, he is the most outstanding one who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water."

Gueye suffered the injury while on international duty with Senegal earlier this month.