Striker Christian Benteke is closing in on a return to action and could even feature for Aston Villa as they host Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert will assess the fitness of the Belgian international striker after he made a faster than expected recovery from a hip injury, which was sustained against Norwich in the 1-0 win at Carrow Road on September 21.
He has missed the last two league games, as well as the Capital One Cup clash against Sunday’s opponents, but has trained with both Belgium and Villa over the last week and was an unused substitute for his national side against Wales on Tuesday.
This means he could return to face Andre Villas-Boas’ men, with Lambert admitting to the BBC earlier this week: “He must have been fit enough to go on the bench, or they wouldn’t have done that.
“He’s been in dialogue with our medical people. He’s doing well and felt good.”
Spurs and Villa are just three points apart in the Premier League, sitting in seventh and 12th respectively, but the north London side have had the edge in recent encounters. They have won 4-0 on their last two visits to Villa Park, including the League Cup win at the end of last month, but the Midlands outfit enter the game on the back of a home success over Manchester City and a draw at Hull last time out.
Lambert has admitted he will not be giving player-of-the-moment Andros Townsend any “special attention” during the game, but Spurs will be hoping he can be the catalyst for his team as they aim to bounce back from their surprising 3-0 defeat against West Ham in their last game.
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