Gerard Houllier expects James Collins to be fit to face Birmingham in Wednesday's Carling Cup clash.
Villa boss expects defender to be fit to play in derby cup clash
Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier expects James Collins to be fit to face arch-rivals Birmingham in Wednesday's Carling Cup clash at St Andrews.
The defender aggravated his calf problem in Saturday lunchtime's 4-2 loss to Arsenal and had to battle through the pain barrier at the end.
But Houllier expects the 27-year-old to pull through in time as he prepares to face the Blues with depleted resources.
The French tactician told the
Birmingham Mail: "Collins had been injured for 10 days.
Rushed back
"We rushed him back a bit. He felt it tighten at the end but he will be alright. He had been 10 days practically without any full training.
"We are struggling in terms of personnel but you've got to stick together and get on with it."
Houllier is hoping for his side to bounce back from the Arsenal disappointment with a win at St Andrews.
"We've got to be honest, we were beaten by a team that was better than us, simple as that," he said.
"The best thing is to learn from that, but also not to think too much about it and turn to the next game which is very important for us."
