Henri Lansbury played for Aston Villa against Birmingham City in the Second City Derby at the weekend.
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has spoken highly of Henri Lansbury to the club’s official website.
Smith was pleased with Lansbury’s cameo during Villa’s 4-2 win against Birmingham at Villa Park in the Championship on Sunday afternoon.
The 28-year-old former Nottingham Forest midfielder came on as a substitute in the 69th minute, but the ex-Arsenal prospect was taken off on 77 minutes due to injury.
Villa manager Smith has praised Lansbury – who joined the Villans from Championship rivals Forest in January 2017 for a transfer fee reported by BBC Sport to be worth £2.75 million – for his cameo role, and for his recent performances in behind-closed-doors games.
Smith told Villa’s official website about Lansbury: “He got fouled and felt his hamstring, so he had to go off. We’ll have to assess how he is.
“He’s been doing really well and has played in a few behind-closed-doors games for us. He’s been pushing to get on and did well when he did.”
Unlucky
Lansbury struggled for playing time earlier in the season when Steve Bruce was in charge, but under Smith, there have been some encouraging signs in training and behind-closed-doors games.
The match against Birmingham was the former Arsenal prospect was first in the Championship this season, and the midfielder was unlucky to have suffered the hamstring injury, especially as Smith’s comments underline the progress he was making.
It now seems that Lansbury will miss Villa’s Championship match against Forest at Villa Park on Wednesday evening.
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