Wilfred Bouma is desperate to play for Aston Villa again to show his gratitude to the club for standing by him during his injury nightmare. The 31-year-old has been out for nearly 12 months after he dislocated his ankle in the Intertoto Cup third round second-leg, in what was only the second game of the season.

"The only thing on my mind is getting back out there," he told the club's official website.

"I can't wait to put that claret and blue shirt on again.

"I want to be back playing with all the boys because Villa have been brilliant with me and I want to give them something back for the support they have shown me."