VILLA HOPE N’ZOGBIA’S RETURN CAN HALT THE SLIDE
ALEX MCLEISH hopes Charles N’zogbia will return to action this week and has not ruled out the possibility of Jermaine Jenas making a comeback before the end of the season. The Aston Villa boss has seen his side slip to within five points of the relegation zone thanks to a run of just one win in their last eight games. Villa have been hit with injuries to their more experienced players, and are without Stiliyan Petrov, who has been diagnosed with leukaemia. N’zogbia was sent to a specialist for tests on knee ligament trouble and Mcleish is hoping that the France international will be available for this weekend’s trip to Liverpool. ‘The specialist thought it would be seven to 10 days,’ Mcleish said. ‘I was hoping we could rush him back for this weekend. If we can, that will be a bonus. He has healed quickly and has been running in straight lines this week.’ The return of Jenas would be far more surprising. The on-loan midfielder, who returned to parent club Spurs after damaging ankle ligaments in December, was given six months to recover. ‘We are in touch with Spurs’ medics and he’s getting all his treatment there,’ Mcleish said. ‘He is a Villa player until the end of the season. I can’t rule him out if he was to become available to us.’ Gabriel Agbonlahor has been handed the captain’s armband in Petrov’s absence. He was given the job for the first time in the 4-2 defeat by Chelsea last Saturday and Villa have confirmed that he will keep it until vice-captain Richard Dunne recovers from a broken collarbone.