Villa duo in race to make cup tie

stephenwarnock Villa duo Stephen Warnock and Nigel Reo-Coker both face a race to be fit for the Carling Cup quarter-final at Portsmouth.

Warnock sat out Saturday’s clash with Tottenham with illness, while Reo-Coker was forced off in the second half of the 1-1 draw with an ankle injury. Both are being assessed at the club’s Bodymoor headquarters.

With second-choice left-back Nicky Shorey having joined Nottingham Forest on loan last week, right-back Luke Young switched flanks against Spurs and would be the likely choice to deputise again for Warnock at Pompey tomorrow.

Manager Martin O’Neill said: “I’m hoping it’s just a temporary thing because Stephen wouldn’t want to miss anythin. We stayed in a hotel on Friday night and when the boys all left after supper everybody was fine.

“But he woke up on Saturday morning feeling ill. At about 8am it looked as if he might be slightly better but then he got worse.

“The best thing to do was isolate him. Roddy MacDonald the club doctor will keep me informed. I’m hoping that it’s not too long, but I don’t know.”

Reo-Coker battled on with the ankle problem until the 71st minute before being replaced by Steve Sidwell.

O’Neill said: “About 30 minutes into the game Ashley Young came over to say Nigel’s ankle was a bit sore. It was a wee bit swollen at half-time but he came out for the second half and then it was really irking him. We’ll see what he’s like.”

The Villa boss was delighted by Gabby Agbonlahor’s eighth of the season – a scrambled effort from close range – which prompted a very different reaction from the crowd to the ironic cheers when substituted the last time he played Spurs during a dip in form.

“That sort of goal, bundling over the line from two or three yards, is a proper goalscorer’s goal. That’s something which is great and hopefully he can do a wee bit more of. It’s the type you would see the likes of Jermain Defoe or Michael Owen score so it’s pleasing.

“Obviously there was disappointment at the time with the reaction he got, but overall I think he’s pretty well received by the crowd.”

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This article was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 11:27 am.
View more articles about: ashley young, gabby agbonlahor, jermain defoe, luke young, martin o'neill, nicky shorey, nottingham forest, portsmouth, steve sidwell, tottenham, villa.