Ross Barkley returns to training for Aston Villa but Trezeguet remains out

Barkley back in training

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has given a fitness update ahead of the game against Crystal Palace. Villa moved up to 9th in the table after recovering from a dip in form, winning two of their last three matches.

They have had to cope with a couple of injury issues with both Ross Barkley and Trezeguet experiencing fitness problems. However, Dean Smith has now revealed some positive news for the Villa faithful after confirming that Barkley has now returned to training.

“We are expecting Ross to start training tomorrow, which is good news for us. Trezeguet will still be missing but Ezri is also back in training from tomorrow,” Smith said.

The boss starts with team news…

“We are expecting Ross to start training tomorrow, which is good news for us. Trezeguet will still be missing but Ezri is also back in training from tomorrow.”#AVLCRY pic.twitter.com/Wd0VmgodtC

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 22, 2020

Barkley arrived on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea after struggling to work his way into the first-team squad. The Blues made significant investments in attack with Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner all arriving in the summer.

The move to Aston Villa did not deter the England international though and he became an integral part of Smith’s midfield – scoring on his debut in the 7-2 victory over Liverpool. However, he has not played since the 2-1 loss away from home against Brighton.

A strong start

Dean Smith has also reflected on what has been a fairly successful 2020 for Aston Villa. The West Midlands club survived a relegation battle and has since pushed on from a point of teetering over the drop.

The club were able to keep Jack Grealish at the club and made some significant signings including Arsenal’s Emiliano Martinez, Brentford’s Ollie Watkins, Nottingham Forest’s Matty Cash, Lyon’s Bertrand Traore and the aforementioned Barkley.

“Maintaining our status as a Premier League club was important to us, with the work that we put in from March. We added five quality players and now we feel that we’re in a really good place,” Smith remarked.

“I said from the start that Ollie would bring us a different dimension in terms of how we press and work without the ball. He enables us to defend higher up the pitch. He’s had some goals ruled out that were marginal and he’s playing very well.”

Arguably their best signing has been that of goalkeeper Martinez. The Argentinian keeper arrived at Villa Park after leaving Arsenal having won the FA Cup and Community Shield. Mikel Arteta felt that Bernd Leno was still the number one option at the Gunners and Martinez was keen to move and play first team regular football.

“It’s been a team effort; Emi Martínez has given the whole team a lot of confidence. We have got a lot of players playing well at the moment and the unity is excellent.”

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Source: 101greatgoals.com