The Steve Bruce signing has played just eight minutes in the Championship this season.
Aston Villa have delivered yet more good news in terms of available playing personnel on Thursday as they announced two players who have been sidelined long term are now at Dean Smith’s disposal for Saturday.
The West Midlanders, who are sitting sixth in the Championship table, will be hoping to make it five wins on the trot in the league when they host 16th-placed Blackburn Rovers at Villa Park this weekend.
Villa posted a Twitter message featuring a graphic of the players who are definitely out for the game, those in light training, and those available for selection:
Defender Axel Tuanzebe has been absent since December with a foot injury, while midfielder Henri Lansbury has had a difficult campaign due to hamstring issues and last appeared in January, but both could not feature against the former Premier League champions.
Indeed, the latter has made only three appearances in all competitions for the Villans, last featuring against Swansea City in the FA Cup at the start of 2019, but his last – and indeed – Championship outing this term – an eight-minute cameo – was all the way back in November (Transfermarkt).
Tammy Abraham is also officially available for selection, the Chelsea loanee returning early from international duty with England due to groin and calf issues he picked up in the win against Middlesbrough.
Villa have had an up-and-down season but with four impressive wins from their last four league games, they have crept into the playoffs with just eight games left, so having high-calibre players coming back will be crucial for Smith.
Here is how some Villa fans reacted on Twitter to the injury update:
Lansbury joined Villa in January 2017, Steve Bruce snapping up Nottingham Forest’s captain on a four-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee (official Villa website).
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