Do Steve Bruce’s comments spell the end for Tommy Elphick at Aston Villa?

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Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick struggled during his side’s match against Middlesbrough last night.

Steve Bruce’s comments to the Birmingham Mail may just spell the end for Tommy Elphick’s Aston Villa career.

Bruce decided to throw Elphick into Villa’s starting line-up against Middlesbrough, but the centre-back struggled badly.

Elphick gave away a penalty and got sent off, as Villa crashed out of the Carabao Cup.

And Bruce’s comments about Elphick after the contest finished can hardly be good news for the former Bournemouth man.

He said: “Tommy has got himself in a poor position for the penalty but he doesn’t need to go to ground. And then we struggled against a decent side.

“It wasn’t his best of evenings, that’s for sure. He needed a game. Tommy had been knocking on my door and wanting to play.”

Elphick has struggled to show his best ever since moving to Villa in 2016 from Bournemouth for a fee worth £3.6 million, according to the Daily Mail, and he was under pressure to perform last night.

However, the 30-year-old blew his opportunity and it is hard to see exactly when his next chance will come.

Villa have a large number of options at centre-back, and James Chester and John Terry appear to be Bruce’s first choice pairing currently.

Villa are next in action at the weekend, when they take on Nottingham Forest in front of their own supporters.