Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has give his side a major injury boost ahead of their game against Birmingham by revealing that three senior players are all back from injury.
Jack Grealish, Mile Jedinak and Henri Lansbury are all available at the weekend for the crunch fixture when Villa travel to their bitter Midlands rivals.
Bruce has confirmed that the trio are back in contention after their respective spells on the sidelines, as cited by the club’s official Twitter account.
Grealish is yet to make a senior appearance this season due to a kidney problem, but is back in contention and has featured for the Under-23s side recently.
The attacking midfielder will be keen to make an impact in the derby match against Birmingham and is available for selection.
Meanwhile, Jedinak has struggled with a groin injury and his sole appearance this campaign came against Middlesbrough in September.
The central midfielder will be desperate to show his fitness as his nation Australia have a World Cup play-off with Honduras in November.
Lansbury has also not featured since the Middlesborugh clash in September and is back in full training as he awaits his return.
The central midfielder will bolster Bruce’s options and has made five appearances so far this season.
OPINION
Bruce will be delighted to have three important players available to him once again ahead of the weekend and is squad is now looking extremely formidable. Villa have managed to turn into real promotion candidates in the last month and would love to get one over rivals Birmingham at the weekend. They are currently fifth in the Championship table and beat Fulham 2-1 in their last match, which means they have won five of their last six league games. Villa have found some consistency with Glenn Whelan and Conor Hourihane in the centre of the park, but the return of Jedinak and Lansbury is set to make it extremely competitive for a midfield spot.