Aston Villa Suffer Key Injury Blow

New Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert will have to deal with the loss of two key players for the opening stages of the new English Premier League season after Gabriel Agbonlahor and Richard Dunne both underwent surgery for respective injuries.

Striker Agbonlahor suffered a knee injury during the club’s pre-season tour of America, ruling him out of action for up to six weeks. Ireland defender Dunne, however, appears to have picked up a groin injury during the recent European Championships, a problem which wasn’t dealt with by the Irish FA, according to a statement from Villa.

"Gabby Agbonlahor will be sidelined for a further four-five weeks with the injury to his left knee, sustained against Chicago Fire. This is after the scan confirmed medial ligament damage” he told news soccer reporters.

"Meanwhile, Richard Dunne will also be out of action for six-eight weeks, having undergone a procedure on a groin injury which he sustained and was not dealt with during the European Championship."

Losing the key duo at this point of Villa’s pre-season will be a blow to the club’s plans for the new campaign and something punters betting on soccer with take note of.

However, Lambert will know that both injuries could have come at worse times in the season, and the Scotsman will be confident of finding cover for the duo.

Lambert has been tasked with getting Villa back into the top-half of the table after a tough few seasons. The Scotsman impressed many last season with how he led Norwich back into the top-flight, going on to comfortably avoid relegation. Villa will be a much tougher ask for Lambert, however, with the club’s expectations far higher than they were for the young coach at Norwich.