Ritchie de Laet has confirmed that he is due to return from a serious knee injury in time for Aston Villa’s pre-season training.
The 28-year-old hasn’t kicked a ball since September following his arrival at Villa Park just a month earlier on a three-year deal from Leicester.
De Laet made just three appearances for Villa before suffering the season-ending setback in the 1-1 draw with Brentford, which more than hampered his debut season in the West Midlands.
However he has been quoted by the Birmingham Mail as saying that he is “fit and raring to go” for the beginning of pre-season training after undergoing surgery.
The two-times Belgium international played roles in helping two clubs achieve memorable seasons last year.
The first half of the campaign saw De Laet play 12 times in Leicester’s historic Premier League victory before he was sent on loan to Middlesbrough when he helped them earn promotion from the Championship in his ten appearances.
Aston Villa are set to operate on a small budget over the summer transfer window so having a player like De Laet back among the ranks will no doubt be a huge boost to manager Steve Bruce.
Alan Hutton has been the main choice at right-back and enjoyed arguably one of his better seasons at Villa Park in the absence of De Laet.
James Bree is also an option in the position and he too was called into the first-team due to several injury problems with plagued the first-team.