Source: SKY_Sports
Bouma to return next term
Aston Villa are hoping Wilfred Bouma will be back in contention for the start of next season.[LNB] The Dutch defender has endured a wretched 2008/09 campaign, with an ankle injury keeping him sidelined since July.[LNB]He has recently undergone keyhole surgery in an effort to bring an end to that problem, and will sit out the remainder of this season as a result.[LNB]Villa boss Martin O'Neill is optimistic, though, that the issue has finally been laid to rest and expects the full-back to regain full fitness over the summer.[LNB]"Freddy will miss the rest of the season," said O'Neill. "It's been a wretched time for him. He has gone to see the specialist who helped him with the injury originally.[LNB]"He has gone in for some keyhole surgery to remove some of the particles that have been floating around.[LNB]Discomfort"Whether they've been there for a week or a few months, we're not sure. But it's causing him discomfort.[LNB]"The long and short of it is that he'll be out for the rest of the season. But he should, with a bit of luck, come roaring back during pre-season."[LNB]While Bouma remains some way off a recall for now, O'Neill is expecting to have Gabriel Agbonlahor and Nigel Reo-Coker available when Villa play host to Hull City next Monday.[LNB]"Nigel and Gabby should be fine. Gabby has trained - although he did train last week to be fair and still missed the Bolton game (on Saturday)," he said.[LNB]"It was a precaution that he didn't play at the weekend because he just felt the hamstring. But I think he will be fine for Hull.[LNB]"Nigel has come in this week and has gradually done some work. He is feeling much, much better which is good news. He should be fine too."[LNB]InjectionsO'Neill is also hoping Luke Young will shake off a foot complaint in time to face the Tigers.[LNB]"Luke has been sore for quite a number of weeks - playing with pain-killing injections," he added.[LNB]"I thought the best thing to do was to give him a rest. He's been able to do that and we'll look at him again towards the end of the week.[LNB]"He definitely feels better and is seeing the benefits of missing the game against Bolton.[LNB]"But we'll see. It might be a problem that stays with him until the end of the season."[LNB]
