Aston Villa Football Club News

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

• Ground:Villa Park
• Capacity:42,584

Petrov out of firing line

10 Jan 2007 - 13:07:16

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Aston Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov is set for a spell on the sidelines as he looks to recover from a niggling hamstring injury.

Petrov has played through the pain in recent weeks but Villa boss Martin O'Neill has ordered the Bulgaria midfielder to take a few weeks off in a bid to recapture his early-season form.

The £6.5million summer signing from Celtic will miss Villa's next two Premiership games with Manchester United and Watford but could return to face Newcastle United on January 31.

The absence of Petrov will open the door for Steven Davis to stake a claim for a first-team berth.

"Stiliyan just doesn't feel right at this minute, so we will take him out of proceedings for a while," O'Neill told the Birmingham Mail.

"We will see what the weekend brings. If there is any sort of consolation about being knocked out of the FA Cup, the weekend of the fourth round we should get a chance to give some of the boys a breather at last after a hectic period.

"Missing out a week or not playing for a fortnight, that's about the only consolation you can get from this situation."

Meanwhile, defender Martin Laursen is poised to make a comeback in the reserve team after missing the last two months with a knee injury.