Injured Villa defender Curtis Davies has insisted he was right not to undergo surgery in the summer – despite it leaving his World Cup dreams hanging by a thread.

The ex-Albion skipper is expected to be out until January, after having the troublesome shoulder which has been dislocated several times since February finally operated on in early September.

Davies could have been closing in on a return, had he undergone the procedure at the end of last season, but is adamant it wasn’t required at that stage.

He said: “I don’t regret not having it done in the summer, because it wasn’t needed. How can you justify an operation when I’ve just got through four months of football without it happening?

“If you have the operation you technically weaken it at first. I got through it then and I got through for a few years when it happened at West Brom.”

The player had hoped to be pushing for a recall to the England squad ahead of next summer’s World Cup but admits his chances are faint.

He said: “It was always going to be a big ask, but if I was going to have a chance then it would have been better playing a full season.”