Aston Villa: Laursen to be out for awhile

Aston Villa summer signing Martin Laursen is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Denmark international suffered the setback during the defeat at Charlton just over two weeks ago.

Villa had been hoping the fortnight's break from league action because of World Cup qualifiers would have resulted in an improvement in his condition.

But Laursen, signed from AC Milan for 3million, is now to see a specialist on Monday to try to determine the extent of the problem.

It means Villa manager David O'Leary will have to continue with right-back Mark Delaney at centre-back alongside skipper Olof Mellberg.

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Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen faces another anxious 48-hour wait before knowing if he is to require knee surgery.

The Denmark international centre-back has spent the last three weeks on the sidelines after sustaining ligament damage in Villa's 3-0 defeat at Charlton.

The 3million summer capture from AC Milan has since missed the club's last two games, at home to Newcastle and Chelsea, as well as Denmark's opening World Cup qualifying draw against Ukraine.

Laursen visited a specialist on Monday and underwent a scan in the hope of discovering the full extent to his injury, however the results proved inconclusive.

The 27-year-old is to now undergo further, more detailed tests, with manager David O'Leary fearing the worst.

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hopefully he comes back, as i think he will be good for villa, having came from milan and is a international defender for denmark

Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen has set himself the target of returning to fitness in time to play in the second city derby against Birmingham City on December 12.

The Danish international has missed Villa's last six games after undergoing knee surgery, but is optimistic about his chances of a pre-Christmas return after beginning his rehabilitation work.

"It's 17 days since the operation," Laursen told the club's official website.

"I've been walking around without crutches for three days. I can do some cycling, I walk a bit, I do some work in the pool and some weight training - though obviously not my left knee.

"I feel a bit sore, but I feel okay. The plan is that we are going to see the doctor next Tuesday and then we will decide after a scan if I can start to do a bit of jogging.

"The plan is that I'll do that for a week and then I'll be able to go outside and do some ball-work for a further week. So hopefully five weeks from the operation I can train normally with the team, but it will probably be two months before I am completely fit.

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