Source: Telegraph
Martin Laursen ruled out of Aston Villa's clash with Arsenal
Laursen, who was nearly forced to retire three seasons ago because of knee problems, has been a crucial component of the Villa defence this season, but the centre-back was seeing a specialist in London yesterday after scans suggested that he had injured his knee during the 1-0 win over West Ham on the Sunday. "Obviously it is a worry, because he has been so brilliant for us," O'Neill said. [LNB]"It was on Sunday afternoon that it felt sore. He has had some scans, we think there is something there, and the specialist is looking at him now. I couldn't tell you at the minute, but I'd say he is looking doubtful for the game. How long he might be out, I'm not sure." [LNB]Laursen's injury raises interesting questions about who might captain the side on Friday. Gareth Barry, who was stripped of the captaincy in the summer, would be a contender, as would Curtis Davies who led the side on Uefa Cup duty in Prague, and Brad Friedel. [LNB]Meanwhile, O'Neill said that he expected Cuellar, who picked up a knock against West Ham, to resume training this week, but suggested that he remained a doubt for the Arsenal game. [LNB]O'Neill said: "Carlos is feeling much better. I'm hoping that he might train tomorrow, but he is getting better every day." [LNB]
