From One Villa Crock To Another

Oh dear, this is ominous! One Villa crock talking about another!

Villa and Wales right-back Mark Delaney says that fellow defender Martin Laursen can come back from yet another injury problem.

The Danish International, only just back from repeated knee problems, limped off against Fulham last weekend with an injury to his hamstring.

Delaney, also fighting to re-gain his fitness before his contract runs out this summer, said: 'He's shown great strength of character from the start of what has been a terrible run of injuries. Every time I've seen him play, he's always done little wrong and put his heart and soul into it. It says a lot that every time he has been fit, Martin O'Neill has put him in the squad, and quite a few times in the starting line-up.'

Adding on the official site: 'I think Martin Laursen sums up the wholehearted approach the manager demands from the players. And the fact he's done well whenever the gaffer has picked him and shown great character to come back from his injuries means he'll certainly bounce back from this setback.'

'It's just frustrating for him. And as I have found, you can get into a rut - you can get too downhearted. It's the effect of four or five months of rehab has on you that you can't gauge. The strong people mentally will come through.'

The team would certainly be stronger with both of them on the field but you have to have serious doubts about both players after repeated come-backs and constant injury problems. That said, with Laursen, hopefully the hamstring injury was just because he hasn't been able to play that much football in the last couple of seasons.

There, expert medical knowledge from little old me! Any other questions, feel free (not) to ask.

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