Villa have confirmed that Martin Laursen has been ruled out for two months after undergoing an operation on his troublesome knee.
The Villa skipper made a return form the injury against West Brom a fortnight ago but suffered a reaction which has apparently worsened the situation, leading to the op. Laursen has a long history of knee problems so there is every chance that this period of absence could extend further…
This is a major blow to Villa and of course, to his fantasy owners who may have been clinging to the hope of a quick return. Davies (5.1 in the FPL) and Cuellar (5.4) are now likely to take up the centre-back roles for the foreseeable future but Villa’s defensive resilience is markedly reduced without Laursen’s presence.
It’s now very debatable as to whether the Villa back four is worthy of investment, despite a reasonable run of fixtures to come. Luke Young (4.5), may continue to offer value within the Villa defence but his returns seem likely to drop off further as a result of this news. Davies will also be assured of plenty of defensive points and continue to offer value in the Guardian game.
Villa have kept 2 clean sheets in the last 7 league games.
