Scooby Doo And Villa Injuries

The latest updates on our injured players.

On the good site, Danish international – and when fit, defensive rock – Martin Laursen might be fit for Sunday’s game against Liverpool.

Laursen picked up a hamstring injury against Fulham, he keeps picking these things up, just wish he’d listened to his mom when he was a kid, I know mine always told me not to pick things up that weren’t mine. Oh well.

Martin O’Neill said before I so rudely interrupted: ‘These things usually take three weeks minimum, but he’s feeling not too bad about it. Tomorrow’s game will come too soon for him, but then we’ll see how he is after that. I’d imagine he’ll certainly be fit for the Everton game, if not sooner, all being well.’

Former Celtic striker Shaun Maloney however is out of the game against Arsenal tomorrow night with a virus but could be back in contention for the Liverpool game.

The official site has gone all Scooby doo and says ‘Mystery still surrounds the eye injury that has kept Chris Sutton out of Premiership action since late December.’ He’d have been alright if it wasn’t for those pesky kids.

Sutton has returned to ‘light training’ this week but still can’t join in with any contact training. He’s seen two and is about to see a third specialist. Martin O’Neill explained, ‘Chris Sutton has an appointment in the next fortnight to see what progress has been made and we will assess it from there. He doesn’t feel much better. I saw him the other day because he is coming in to get some fitness, so if he gets some good news, at least his fitness levels are up there. At least say if he got a hamstring injury, we’d know how long he was going to be out for. It’s been more than frustrating for everyone concerned, especially for Chris, but it’s crucial we get it right.’

‘I don’t think Chris in the latter stages of his career, wants to be going into games thinking the next time he hurts himself his vision is impaired permanently. So if we get guarantees at some stage that a bang on the head won’t give him that type of injury, then fine, but no one has been able to give us that yet. We will just have to wait and see.’