Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill described Martin Laursen as "majestic" after yesterday's 1-0 defeat of West Ham.
He said: "Martin Laursen is just brilliant for us. He is as brave as a lion. Sometimes he goes in for balls he can't win.
"But it's better he's like that rather than not going in at all. He has been majestic for us. He ended the game with his head heavily bandaged after having three stitches in his head but we wanted to get him back on."