Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has provided a fitness update on his squad, with Danny Ings ruled out of facing Man City on Wednesday night.
Villa will be looking to make it three consecutive wins in midweek after picking up six points against Brighton and Crystal Palace, with Gerrard enjoying a productive start in charge.
READ MORE: Key change Gerrard has implemented since taking charge at Villa
However, this will undoubtedly be a difficult test for both him and his players, but the good news is that he has an almost full-strength squad at his disposal for the encounter.
Ings ruled out with injury, Traore and Trezeguet to step up recovery
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, the Villa Head Coach addressed Ings’ status after he missed the win at Selhurst Park, while he also had updates on long-term absentees Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet.
“Danny Ings, unfortunately, won’t make tomorrow. We were protecting him at the weekend,” he said, as per the club’s official site. “He’s had a little bit of a setback from the previous injury – nothing major, but we had to put the brakes on for a few days at the least.
“The rest is as it was. We’ve got a couple of niggles that are probably on the back of the intense training that we’ve done in the last couple of weeks. The rest are available to play.
“Bertrand Traore still won’t be available and he’ll return to training, hopefully, pre-Christmas. Trezeguet will play for the Under-23s next week. He’s not allowed to play tonight against Charlton.”
It’s hoped that Ings is able to return sooner rather than later, as while Villa arguably look more effective and threatening with Ollie Watkins playing through the middle on his own up top, it’s important that we have different options and strength in depth available for Gerrard with such a hectic schedule coming up.
As for Traore and Trezeguet, it sounds promising that they are set to step up their respective recoveries in the coming weeks, and while Villa already have plenty of competition for places in that area of the pitch, it remains to be seen if the pair impress Gerrard and his staff enough to earn playing time on their return to the fold.