Martin Laursen Will Bounce Back

Martin O’Neill has said Martin Laursen will be back and the Denmark defender says he is a positive man and he’ll deal with it.

The Villa defender, who has had a torrid time with injuries since moving from AC Milan, is out for up to three months after damaging medial knee ligaments during Villa’s Carling Cup defeat at Chelsea in midweek.

O’Neill said: ‘He’s got a knee problem, a medial ligament, and it’s not so good for him. He’s going to be out a fairly considerable length of time. I think it’s in the other knee now. Martin’s a great fighter. I would imagine he will still be back. I think that he would be far, far more important than the result. The very fact he tried to play on, I just have got the utmost regard for him.’

Laursen said: ‘I am a positive man and I will deal with it. It is bad news but it was an accident. There was nothing I could do.’ Explaining ‘I fell awkwardly and twisted my knee a bit. It was very, very painful and I knew something was wrong. It is the medial ligament and it is partially ruptured. At first I feared serious cartilage damage but it hasn’t touched it, so there is no need for surgery. I had hoped it was first grade ligament damage, but it has turned out to be grade two and so it will definitely be three months. But from when? Is it from when I have my first training session, or is it from when I am fit to play? It all depends on the rehabilitation but we haven’t talked about what that will entail just yet.’

Adding: ‘It’s one of the lowest points of my career for me. I’ve been out for a long time before and I’ve really enjoyed every second and every minute of training and playing, so to be out again is a really big blow. It is especially disappointing because I was really in good shape. I felt really sharp and felt I was playing well. I got the man-of-the-match award against Blackburn and thought I had done well in the first half at Chelsea on Wednesday. I had got myself back into the team and everything seemed very, very good so it is very disappointing, but again, what can I do? It is just bad luck. It’s just not what I needed right now and I need time to get right.’