Villa’s Gabby Agbonlahor is a doubt for Villa’s clash with Portsmouth at the weekend after sustaining a hamstring injury in last night’s England U21 match with Wales.

The Villa striker was replaced at half-time as Stuart Pearce’s side hung on to a 2-2 draw to win their tie on aggregate. Agbonlahor will doubtless be assessed before the Portsmouth game and should he fail to make it, then Milner would be the hot favourite to step in. The former Newcastle man has been waiting for his opportunity for a start and O’Neill is likely to reward his patience.

Milner is classed as a midfielder across the games and could certainly be worth a short-term punt once the extent of Agbonlahor’s injury is confirmed.