Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has revealed that veteran defender Alan Hutton will be missing for several weeks after limping off in their win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Villa came from behind twice in the match to come away from Hillsborough with an important 4-2 win that puts them right back in the mix for automatic promotion.
However, the win came at a cost after Hutton was forced from the pitch with a hamstring strain, and Bruce has now confirmed that the Scotland international enforcer will miss several weeks of action.
As quoted by the Birmingham Mail, Bruce said: “We went to Sheffield Wednesday with four or five missing already, so to lose Alan was a blow We’re fortunate that when he goes down we’ve got someone like Neil Taylor to come on. That’s not a bad replacement, is it?
“We don’t want anymore injuries, though. It’s a hamstring problem and it’ll be a while for him. We’ll be without him for a few weeks now. It’s a shame because he’s been fantastic.
“It’s a squad game and I’ve used something like 36 players. We’ve had problems to deal with so hopefully we don’t get anymore. Hopefully we get a few on the mend this week. That will help us.”
Lewis Grabban scored his second goal for the club as he equalised after Sean Clare’s opener for the Owls, before Lucas Joao put Wednesday back in the lead just before half-time.
Glenn Whelan grabbed Villa’s second equaliser before two late goals from Conor Hourihane and Robert Snodgrass sealed a brilliant win that keeps Villa within four points of Cardiff in second.
OPINION
The loss of Hutton will be a big blow for Villa going forward, but they have the squad to deal with his absence for a couple of weeks. Neil Taylor is a Premier League-quality wing-back, and Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe is showing good signs. It is a shame for Hutton as he has been playing well this season, and the 33-year-old will hope to heal up as soon as possible to help Villa in their fight for promotion.