Aston Villa have confirmed that Ezri Konsa and Ross Barkley have returned to training ahead of the Boxing Day clash at home to Crystal Palace.
The 23-year-old defender had been out of action due to illness, while the on-loan midfielder was suffering with a hamstring injury, but the pair could make the matchday squad for the weekend clash against the Eagles.
Konsa missed Villa’s last two matches, forcing Dean Smith to name Bjorn Engels on the bench. The Villa manager will have a decision to make whether to bring the 23-year-old back into the starting XI, name two centre-backs among his substitutes or give Konsa further time to prove his fitness.
Barkley has missed the last four matches through injury. With Smith naming two right-backs in Ahmed Elmohamady and Frederic Guilbert on the bench against Albion, it seems likely that one will be sacrificed for the England midfielder.
READ ASTON VILLA VERDICT
Villa come into Saturday’s game off the back of two wins and a draw from their last three matches.
They have kept consecutive clean sheets, too, so a Palace side winless in their last three and coming off the back of a 7-0 home defeat to Liverpool might struggle, especially with Smith set to welcome Konsa and Barkley back into the fold.
In other news, one Villa player has been ruled out of the Boxing Day clash through injury.
