Villa will ‘beg and borrow’

STEVE Bruce will plead this weekend with Aston Villa owner Dr Tony Xia to fund urgent reinforcements – and he expects the answer has got to be ‘NO’.

Bruce (below) has seen skipper John Terry limp out with a broken metatarsal, and has lost striker Scott Hogan to a bowel condition.

Peoplesport can reveal exclusively that last season’s leading scorer Jonathan Kodjia has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a fractured ankle too.

Bruce said: “I’m due to see the chairman. Money is an issue because of Financial Fair Play — still.

“You don’t have to be a rocket-scientist to see how much money the club has spent over the years.

“We begged, stole and borrowed in the summer. And that’s what we are facing. That’s when I, as a manager, earn my money.”