 In his first full season with Villa, Bent scored his first goal of the season against Blackburn Rovers in a 3 – 1 victory on 20 August 2011. In his first match against former club Sunderland, a 2 – 2 draw at the Stadium of Light on 29 October 2011, every time he received a touch on the ball he was booed by the home support. Bent then suffered an injury during the match against Bolton Wanderers and was out for the next few matches as a result. Bent caused controversy when a fan posted a picture and claimed the striker was out shopping while his teammates were losing 2 – 0 to Liverpool. It was later revealed Bent had been sent home to recover from his injury and afterwards he apologised to the Villa fans for his actions. After apologising, manager Alex McLeish reacted angrily to the "conspiracy theory" over Bent's absence for Villa. This led to Bent having to deny a fall-out with McLeish. Bent made his return as a 78th-minute substitute in the match against Chelsea on 31 December 2011, scoring the third goal to seal a 3 – 1 win at Stamford Bridge. After not scoring in the next two matches, Bent went on a run by scoring in the next four matches for Villa, including his first FA Cup goal in a Villa shirt on 29 January 2012, against Arsenal in an eventual 3 – 2 defeat. Three days later, Bent scored his 100th Premier League goal as Villa came from behind to earn a 2 – 2 home draw against Queens Park Rangers. He was the 21st player to reach the milestone.
