Valencia will be without their injury-plagued Spanish international striker David Villa for at least three weeks with a hamstring injury, the club announced here on Wednesday.

Villa tore his left hamstring during Valencia's 0-0 UEFA Champions League draw at Chelsea on Tuesday, the fifth successive game in which Valencia have failed to score.

Last season, the 26-year-old striker was the top scoring local player in La Liga with 16 goals.

His prolific goals lead to the Spanish media frequently speculated that he was set for a big money move to an English Premiership club, with Liverpool often mentioned.

However, Villa's form has fallen this season although he has still scored four goals in La Liga.

He has also found the net twice in Valencia's disappointing European campaign which saw them finish bottom of their group and not even qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

Villa will miss at least Valencia's next two Spanish league games, including Saturday's crunch home match against Spanish giants and traditional rivals Barcelona.

Valencia are currently seventh in La Liga with 25 points but have slipped out of the places that will see them playing in Europe again next season after only getting one point from their last three games.

He also missed four La Liga matches and one Champions League match in October and November, as well as having to drop out of the Spain squad ahead of a crucial UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier against Denmark, after suffering an ankle injury.