Aston Villa receive mixed news over Steve Sidwell and Nigel Reo-Coker
Aston midfielder Steve Sidwell will be out of action for six weeks with an Achilles tendon injury, but Nigel Reo-Coker will return in two to three weeks from his knee injury.
Sidwell, the former Chelsea and Reading player, postponed surgery on the tendon in order to play for Aston Villa, which was short of players due to injury.
The 27-year-old will now undergo surgery to fix the problem and is not expected to return to first team action until the end of December.
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier told BBC Sport that, "Steve's Achilles tendon flared up so the best thing is to do it [the surgery] as soon as possible."
The player will now miss some crucial matches against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Sidwell will hope to return to action for Aston Villa for their Premier League fixture at Villa Park on Sunday 26 December.
A number of players may fill in for Sidwell, who has made six appearances so far this season.
However, with Stiliyan Petrov also out, a greater emphasis may be placed on the likes of Stephen Ireland.
Houllier did receive some good news in relation to Nigel Reo-Coker, whose injury is not as bad as first feared.
The player was suspected to have torn ligaments in his knee, but Houllier said, "Nigel is not as bad as we thought. He could be back in training in two to three weeks. We thought it was a tear but it is just slight damage to the medial ligament. That is
good news."
Reo-Coker, who can play in midfield or as a right back, will be a welcome return to Houllier’s team, which is now missing two central midfielders in Petrov and Sidwell.
Reo-Coker will miss the upcoming Premier League games against Blackpool and Manchester United, but he may feature in Aston Villa’s visit to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
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