Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick has suffered a shattering blow as he is set to miss six weeks of action due to injury and that has seen his hopes of earning a new contract endure a setback, according to the Express and Star.
The regional newspaper claim that a scan has revealed that the 31-year-old tore a ligament at the base of his foot in the 4-0 victory over Derby County and he will be on the sidelines until mid-April.
The Express and Star report that the injury isn’t just a blow for manager Dean Smith but that Elphick’s desire to sign a new deal with his current contract set to expire in the summer has taken a hit.
OPINION
This is bad news all around for Villa and Elphick even though it’s not as bad as first feared. The 31-year-old was stretchered off during the win over Derby and you couldn’t help but fear his season was over. Yet it seems while the injury looked bad, Elphick could still play a part this season. The centre-back has started the Villans’ last 10 league games and seems to have well and truly forced his way into Smith’s plans. Elphick spent the first-half of the current season on loan at Hull City, so it’s impressive how he has returned to the club and managed to regularly feature. However with his contract going in the summer, there is still work needed to be done to see him stay beyond the end of this season. When you consider that Elphick is the wrong side of 30 and that it wasn’t too long ago he was deemed surplus to requirements, shown by the fact he was loaned out, he needs to be playing as much as possible before the season ends in order to prove his talents.