Aston Villa have received a timely fitness boost with a
trio of key players set to be available for Saturday's encounter with Crystal
Palace.
Midfielders Fabian Delph and Karim El Ahmadi missed the
2-1 home defeat to Fulham last weekend with a sore leg and thigh strain
respectively, while forward Gabriel Agbonlahor was absent through illness.
However, manager Paul Lambert is hopeful that all three
will be available as Villa face Tony Pulis' men looking to end a run of three
straight losses.
"There will be a good chance the three of them will
be back next week," Lambert told the club's official website.
"We had Fabian missing against Fulham and Gabby
(Agbonlahor) too and Karim, who has been playing really well of late. These are
lads who have played a lot of the season."
Lambert lamented Villa's ill-fortune this season, with
Christian Benteke the latest long-term casualty after suffering a serious
Achilles injury.
In addition to Benteke's setback, Jores Okore sustained a
ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in September and Libor Kozak broke his leg
during training in January.
Lambert added: "It's been a big chunk of our squad.
If you go through them - Jores has virtually missed the whole season, Libor has
missed half a season, Christian is out for six months or so.
"There's been major, major injuries. It's not like
they have been strains. These have been big injuries."
Villa have received positive news regarding striker
Nicklas Helenius, who is nearing a first-team return and could resume training
this week.
"Nicklas has had a thigh strain - an abductor
strain," he continued. "He might begin training at the start of the
week.
"He has had little injuries which have kept him out.
But hopefully he will train this week."
Culled from Soccerway
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