Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has admitted his relief at seeing winger Stewart Downing finally back in action – having been the one who left him crocked.

Downing, a £10million summer signing from Middlesbrough, made his long-awaited debut in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Burnley after a six-month spell on the sidelines, nursing a foot fracture suffered in a clash with Petrov during the Teessiders’ duel with Villa in May.

The England star is expected to feature against Tottenham on Saturday after moving a step closer to full fitness by turning out for the reserves at Arsenal last night – and his skipper could not be happier.

Petrov said: “I’m really happy to see him fit again. This boy loves to play football and when you see someone who loves to play football unable to do it because of injury, and I was involved in that, then it’s not very pleasant to see.

“I had a conversation with him straight after when he had the injury and he worked really hard to get fit.

“He’s raring to go and now we’re looking forward to seeing him in action. I think he’s going to add something very special to our team.”

Saturday’s showdown promises to be one of Villa’s toughest tests this season, following Spurs’ remarkable 9-1 drubbing of Wigan last weekend.

Petrov added: “The win they had at the weekend was great. Not many teams in the Premier League can score nine goals. But we can beat them, although we will treat them with respect.”