Phillips scores on comeback
19/01/2006 - 09:50:14Kevin Phillips stepped up his bid for a first-team return with Aston Villa after making a scoring comeback for the reserves.
The former Southampton striker grabbed the opening goal in a 3-1 win over Birmingham – his first action since suffering an ankle injury nearly two months ago.
Phillips completed 69 minutes after being sidelined since the Carling Cup humiliation at Doncaster in late November.
Villa boss David O’Leary had indicated to Phillips he needed to put in a full 90 minutes before he could be considered for a first-team recall.
That would seem to rule out a comeback in Saturday’s Premiership clash at Tottenham with the following weekend’s FA Cup clash with Port Vale the more likely option for the 32-year-old.
