Villa Youngster Sidelined

Villa midfielder Craig Gardner will be out of action for up to two weeks after picking up a groin strain in the Chelsea game on Tuesday night.

Martin O’Neill told the official site: ‘He’s got a groin problem and it looks as if he’ll be out for a couple of weeks. The medical staff are assessing it at the moment. It’s unfortunate, but he’s hopefully not out for as long as we first feared, but he’s going to be out for a while.’

‘Craig’s been doing really well. He’s refreshing, he’s young, he wants to get into the side and he wants to do really well. He’s made a very favourable impression on the team and obviously on myself.’