Richard Dunne 'will be a Euro star'

James Collins today claimed Richard Dunne will relish Euro 2012 after his return ahead of schedule from a fractured collarbone helped Villa effectively beat the drop.

Dunne proved his fitness in Villa’s last two matches as they secured draws against Albion and Tottenham.

It moved them three points clear of the Premier League drop zone with a vastly superior goal difference heading into the final game against Norwich at Carrow Road.

And the 32-year-old defender was subsequently named in Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni’s 23-man squad for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine, which starts in just under a month’s time.

Dunne was inspirational on his comeback against Albion and, with the exception of a  foul to concede a penalty, was one of their better performers against Spurs and Collins revealed his team-mate’s excitement ahead of the tournament.

He said: “It’s massive for him. I know he loves playing for Ireland and from the Euro 2012 qualifiers I saw the buzz he had when he was back here afterwards.

“Obviously qualifying was great for him so he was desperate to get back in time for that. He was also keen to be back in a Villa shirt before the end of the season to help us, so not just for the European Championships.”

Collins revealed that Dunne worked tirelessly at Bodymoor Heath to speed up his comeback from an operation on his collarbone, even though the Irishman was not used to such a long spell on the sidelines.

The Welshman said: “I have been out with long injuries myself and it is tough to come in to do rehab and then watch all the boys training. It was tough for Richard because he had never had an injury which has kept him out for so long. But he’s naturally a quick healer and worked hard at the training ground.”