Source: SKY_Sports
Young confident on fitness
Aston Villa full-back Luke Young is hopeful of being 100 per cent fit for the start of the 2009/10 Premier League campaign.
The former Middlesbrough defender managed 34 league appearances for Villa this term despite battling against a foot problem.
Young needed painkillers to continue playing before finally being ruled out of Villa's last two Premier League games against Boro and Newcastle.
The 29-year-old has spent the past few weeks resting the problem and he believes he has already made progress on the road to full fitness.
Although Young has acknowledged that he is still feeling the injury, he remains confident he will be fully recovered for the start of next season.
Frustrating"I was playing on it and not giving the injury the chance to settle down," he explained.
"It has been a bit frustrating because sometimes you can't perform how you want to. I couldn't get about the pitch as I would have liked.
"I wasn't really training through the week. I was just training Friday and playing Saturday and it is not ideal but in the end it got the better of me.
"I've not done anything for a couple of weeks and it is a bit better.
"I can still feel it, but hopefully by the time we come back in July it will be as good as new and I'll be ready to go for the new season.
"If I rest it enough, I can come back for the start of pre-season. I don't need surgery. It is just severe bone-bruising but the constant impact was just not giving it the chance to get better."
