Laursen’s Vow……. (again!)

Martin Laursen is determined to make up for lost time after being given the all-clear to join the start of pre-season training next Monday.

The Danish international has made just 13 appearances since joining Villa from AC Milan, but has worked hard through the summer break to complete his recovery from a knee injury.

Villa physio Alan Smith gave Laursen the green-light as he visited the central defender’s summer training camp in Bologna.

And the Dane told www.avfc.co.uk: ‘This is the next big step for me. Alan Smith happy about everything, so I can take some part of pre-season for sure.

‘It has been a very frustrating time for me and I know the fans have also been frustrated and disappointed.

‘I want to put the last two seasons behind me and play regular football. It has been a long hard comeback and there is more hard work to go. But I am making progress and that is great news.’