Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that senior midfielder Henri Lansbury could be missing until March after suffering another muscular injury blow.
The 28-year-old has been plagued by problems this season, managing to make just three appearances across all competitions as he spends more time in the treatment room than out on the pitch.
Having picked up a hamstring injury in his one Championship outing this campaign, Smith revealed he had suffered the same problem behind the scenes and could be out for as long as five weeks, pushing a return back to early March.
He told the club’s website: “Henri is still not training with us. He’s in the medical room at the moment. From the scan it looks like it’s the same injury he picked up against Birmingham City. So it will probably take four or five weeks like the first one.”
Opinion
When it rains it absolutely chucks it down for Lansbury, who has had absolutely no luck at Villa this season. Injury blow after injury blow, he would do anything to put an end to his problems and just make himself available to Smith, who may or may not be keen to include him among the first team. He is an experienced head with plenty of talent in the Championship and so while Steve Bruce might not have favoured him he has a lot to offer the side. It does not look like he will be kicking a ball in anger any time soon and with the Villans slowly slipping away from the top six and a shot at another play off final, his return could be a case of too little, too late for Smith and his men. What a woeful season this is turning out to be for Lansbury and Villa in general when it comes to injury problems.