Aston Villa Football Club News

• Nickname:The Villains
• Founded:1874
• Manager:Alex McLeish

• Ground:Villa Park
• Capacity:42,584

Heskey to miss United clash

03 Apr 2009 - 11:42:44

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Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill has ruled Emile Heskey out of Sunday's trip to Manchester United through injury.

Heskey limped out of England's friendly against Slovakia last weekend and the striker now facing two weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

Meanwhile, O'Neill has urged his out-of-form side to head to Old Trafford in upbeat mood despite their recent downturn.

Villa have slipped out of the top four and behind Arsenal in the race for Champions League football on the back of a six-game winless run.

"They talk about the difficulty of going to Old Trafford but we must take heart from the victory over Arsenal at the Emirates (in November)," O'Neill told the club's official website.

"It's a case of us thinking that we can a result against anyone on our day. That's got to be our approach.

"Going to Manchester United will not be easy - it hasn't been easy for this club for quite some considerable time but we shouldn't be going in with complete trepidation because otherwise it would be a pointless exercise turning up in the first place.

"People have already written off the Manchester United game and insist Everton at Villa Park is vital.

"The Everton game is very important, but I don't accept that view on the Old Trafford clash.

"We just have to go and battle up there. If we can get something from the game, it would kick-start us.

"You should never be hoping and waiting for the next game to come around."