Aston Villa midfield mainstay Birkir Bjarnason has been left sweating over his availability for the club’s clash against Derby County on Saturday as he faces a late fitness test, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that the 30-year-old, who has been a regular feature in the starting line up when fully fit, is still trying to fight back from a groin injury which sidelined him against Bolton last weekend, and that the Villa medical team will carry out a last minute assessment to see whether Dean Smith can call upon him for the visit to Pride Park.
Bjarnason has nine appearances and two goals under his belt this season but has seen injury problems curtail his campaign.
Opinion
When fully fit, it seems that Bjarnason is a shoo in to be named among the starting XI, which is why it is such a problem he is currently sitting on the sidelines instead of playing among his teammates. After a disappointing start to the season Villa need as many of their top stars to turn their performances around and in the Icelandic international manager Smith has an experienced head with the quality and know how to ensure his side come out successful on the other side of the 90 minutes. He is not the most fashionable of players in the team when it comes to fan opinion, but there is a real argument to suggest that Bjarnason’s absence this season has been a contributing factor to their difficult campaign. The Villans have won just two of the seven games he has not played in and lost only two of those where he has featured. Having him back against Derby, a side who are looking dangerous this season and are pushing for a top six finish, would be a big boost – so will Smith take the gamble? Only time will tell.