Winger blow for unlucky Lambert

Villa have suffered a third major injury setback with winger Marc Albrighton facing six to ten weeks out with a broken metatarsal.

The news has only just come to light despite Albrighton suffering the setback during the first week of pre-season training at Bodymoor Heath last month. The 22-year-old is in a protective boot and not now expected to return to first-team contention until late September or early October. Paul Lambert is cursing his luck with injuries after striker Gabriel Agbonlahor and defender Richard Dunne had already been ruled out for lengthy periods. Agbonlahor is out for four to five weeks and Dunne for six to eight weeks with knee and groin problems respectively. Albrighton had spoken earlier in the summer of trying to impress the new Villa manager after he struggled last season to reproduce the form of the previous campaign. But the Villa academy product faces a lengthy lay-off with the new Barclays Premier League season only eight days away.