Mellberg missing for Villa
Aston Villa captain and centre-back Olof Mellberg has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premiership clash with Arsenal at Highbury because of a flu bug.
The Sweden international had been hopeful of returning after missing last weekend’s goalless draw with Fulham at Villa Park because of a hamstring injury.
But the player has been confined to bed because of the virus and Villa manager David O’Leary will again have to put his faith in Liam Ridgewell and Aaron Hughes.
The duo have played together only twice as a central defensive partnership for Villa but have kept clean sheets on both occasions.
Ten-goal leading scorer Milan Baros remains a doubt because of his ankle injury although he has returned to training.
O’Leary said: “He has trained but he has been out since the (FA) Cup game with Manchester City and not done anything and he looks a bit tired and unfit.
“He has still got a little niggle in his ankle and we will have to see if there is any reaction.”
On a more positive note, midfielder James Milner will have tests on Monday to see how far he has improved after being laid low for the last four games with a virus.
Patrik Berger will return to training on Monday after suffering an Achilles injury while warming up for the cup replay with Stuart Pearce’s side.
O’Leary said: “James is improving and we’ll have a really good idea next week as to when we’ll have him back and Patrik will return to training on Monday.”
