Dean Smith raved about Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury but admitted the 28-year-old had been tainted by injuries.
The Villans boss revealed that he thought Lansbury was a talented footballer who could suit the club’s system and hinted that the 28-year-old would have featured more if it wasn’t for him being constantly ruled out.
Smith added that Lansbury had worked hard to get his fitness back and highlighted the fact that the midfielder was proven at Championship level.
“Ah talented footballer who will suit our system very well, he has been tainted by injuries unfortunately,” said Smith during his press conference live on YouTube (4:12).
“But he has worked very hard to get his fitness back and it was great to put him back on the pitch against Bristol, y’know we’ve now got strength in depth at the moment and it’s a great place for me to be in at the moment.
“The likes on Henri coming back from injury, he can see a pass, he can score goals and he is proven, he is very proven at this level as well.”
OPINION
Lansbury has had a very disappointing 2018/19 campaign as he has only managed to feature four times across all competitions. The 28-year-old has had terrible luck with injuries and it’s easy to see why Smith believes the player’s misfortune has tainted his career in recent months. However perhaps Lansbury is about to turn a corner and really show Aston Villa fans what he is made of. The 28-year-old managed to get on the pitch for 10 minutes in the 2-1 win over Bristol City and that gives him a platform to build on. The only issue the player faces in his bid to get back to 100% is whether Smith will hand him enough minutes to get back up to speed quick enough. Just like the manager highlighted on Wednesday, he has a lot of midfielders to choose from and that means Lansbury being fit again, doesn’t automatically mean he is about to be back in the first-team picture. In fact Lansbury is on the fringes of the squad as it stands. Also with the Villans still in with a chance of making the play-offs, every game from now until the end of the season has high stakes on it, so Smith may be reluctant to take a chance on the proven Championship player.