Aston Villa without senior striker for Fulham match as John Carew injured in training

Gerard Houllier has been left without a senior striker ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Fulham, John Carew the latest member of his squad to succumb to injury after picking up a calf strain in training which will sidelined him for a minimum of three weeks.

Aston Villa without senior striker for Fulham match as John Carew injured in training
Out of action: John Carew picked up an injury in Aston Villa training that rules him out of their match with Fulham Credit: Photo: PA

The Norwegian’s injury, which occurred when he collided with Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel in a practice match on Thursday, came as Emile Heskey underwent successful surgery to a hamstring injury.

The 32 year-old will be out for a month, meaning Nathan Delfouneso, who still plays regularly for the reserves and who only recently has a request to go out on loan denied, must step up and lead the line.

“It is a big blow,” Houllier said. “This is why we need a big squad. We’ll cope. I’m not down. I’m not devastated. In fact I’m confident.

"Sometimes I relish the opportunity to throw a young player in.”

Although there was better news that Steve Sidwell has recovered from a stomach bug, and that Gabby Agbonlahor is showing promising signs of recovering from groin surgery by returning to ball work in training yesterday, Houllier admitted that he is only satisfied with one section of his squad.

“There is only one area at the moment where we are not short in quality and quantity, and that is the defence.”