Aston Villa could have five midfielders return to their first-team squad for their trip to Leeds on Saturday.
The Villains were left with just three fit senior midfielders for last weekend 2-2 draw with Stoke City, but manager Dean Smith has suggested that they could have an influx of returning absentees for their clash with the Championship leaders.
The Midlands club will welcome back Henri Lansbury, Mile Jedinak and Birkir Bjarnason, while Albert Adomah should be in contention.
Jack Grealish will continued to be assessed.
Speaking about the visit to Elland Road, as quoted in the Express and Star, he said: “From where we have been, light on numbers, hopefully next week will give us food for thought.
“We had seven injuries for Saturday’s game, Grealish included.
“I’m hoping for Leeds United that Bjarnason, Lansbury and Jedinak will be back.
“Albert should be back, too. When you’ve got players of that quality out it will affect the levels of training as well.”
OPINION
Aston Villa looked chronically understaffed against Stoke City on Saturday. A terrible run of injuries has put pay to a fantastic run of form that has seen Dean Smith’s side come within touching distance of the play-offs. Three draws in their last four matches have somewhat slowed the momentum that Smith did so well to build when he took the helm at Villa Park. Saturday’s clash with Leeds will arguably be the biggest challenge of his tenure so far. A win for Villa would be a huge statement of intent for a side that will genuinely believe they have what it takes to return to the Premier League. Having the likes of Lansbury, Jedinak, and Bjarnason available will be a massive boost for the Villains, but the player they will want fit and firing the most will be Jack Grealish. So much of what Villa are good at flows through the 23-year-old and they will know that if he is in contention for a start they will have a much better chance of pulling off a landmark victory.