Wrist injury keeps Ritchie De Laet waiting on Aston Villa return
Villa full-back Ritchie De Laet will return to training next week after shaking off his latest injury setback.
It has emerged the 28-year-old, who has not featured in any of the club’s pre-season fixtures, was sidelined after breaking a bone in his wrist a fortnight ago.
De Laet, who joined Villa in a £2.5million switch from Leicester 12 months ago, missed almost the whole of last season with a serious knee injury and, during an interview with the Express & Star earlier this month, made clear his desire to make up for lost time.
The Belgian will now return to training next week ahead of Villa’s Championship opener against Hull on August 5. Despite his lack of action to this point, De Laet is expected to play a significant role as boss Steve Bruce tries to engineer a promotion push.
Villa round off their pre-season tomorrow when they host Watford in a memorial game to former boss Graham Taylor. Supporters are being urged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid queues at the turnstiles. Several first-teamers could also feature when a Villa XI visits non-league Tamworth tonight.
