Aston Villa's Stilian Petrov hopeful of January return
Aston Villa midfielder Stilian Petrov says he is hopeful of making his return from injury in January, and would love to play for the club if they reach the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.
The Bulgaria international has been out of action due to a knee problem and has not featured for the club since the 1-0 defeat away to Sunderland in the English Premier League on 23 October.
Villa plays Birmingham City in the quarter-final of the Carling Cup on Wednesday 1 December, and club captain Petrov has his fingers crossed that his team-mates will triumph at St Andrews so he can feature in the next round, after he led Villa to reach the
final of the competition last season.
The 31-year-old told reporters: "It's difficult to say exactly when I will be fit to play again but I'm making steady progress. With a bit of luck, I should be back early in the new year.
"I'm hoping to be able to do some running next week and then it will be a case of seeing how things progress. If all goes well, I should be in contention for a recall around the time of the Carling Cup semi-finals. I just hope the lads do the business (against
Birmingham) and make sure we are involved."
The semi-finals of the competition will take place in the week beginning 10 January, with the return leg two weeks later. If Villa makes it to that stage, they will face Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham United, Wigan Altheltic, West Bromwich Albion or
Football League Championship club Ipswich Town.
Petrov has made ten appearances for Villa across all competitions this season, and has scored one goal, in the 3-0 EPL victory over West Ham on 14 August. He joined the Birmingham club in 2006 from Scottish Premier League giants Celtic.
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