Downing set to help Villa take on Spurs

Stewart Downing has informed manager Martin O’Neill he is ready to make his full debut in the intriguing meeting between top four aspirants Aston Villa and Tottenham at Villa Park on Saturday.

Downing, Villa’s 12-million-pound signing from Middlesbrough in the close season, has been out of action with a broken metatarsal for the last six months.

But he completed 75 minutes for the reserves against Arsenal on Wednesday evening and now feels he is ready to be considered for a starting role – following his surprise involvement from the bench in the 1-1 draw with Burnley last Saturday.

The England international was not expected to return from the injury, sustained ironically in a challenge with new team-mate Stiliyan Petrov, until the New Year.

But he has impressed O’Neill with his determination to join the club’s quest to make the most of Liverpool’s current malaise and make a concerted bid for a Champions League place.

Downing also hopes that he can use the second half of the season to impress England coach Fabio Capello and regain his place in the international set-up in time for selection for the final World Cup squad.

“Mr Capello spoke to me at Wembley when he invited all the players down to thank them for helping him qualify for the finals. It was nice that he took the time to do that,” said Downing.

“I did not really need an incentive to get back playing, but when the England manager takes you to one side and asks how you are recovering because you are still in his plans, that is a huge boost. Now I just want to make up for lost time.

“The injury has been frustrating and it was strange to join a club when I was injured, but I am ready to play again now and hopefully I can be involved against Tottenham. Everyone at the club is excited about the game.

“How can you not be when two good teams go head-to-head. We are both looking for that top four spot this season. I know they scored nine last weekend, but they won’t be doing that against us. We will test them and I am sure Tottenham are aware of that.”

While Downing makes his long-awaited return to strengthen Villa’s challenge, the continued absence of Croatian play-maker Luca Modric at White Hart Lane is becoming a growing concern for his team-mates and manager Harry Redknapp.

Modric was only expected to be sidelined for six weeks with a fracture to his leg, but has been out for double that amount of time and is showing little sign of an imminent comeback.

His international colleague Niko Kranjcar, one of the scorers in Spurs’ astonishing 9-1 dissection of Wigan last Sunday, has been trying to help the midfielder cope with the depression of being out of action.

“I told him my experiences because last year when I was at Portsmouth I had my ankle operation. It’s not easy when you have a long-term injury for the first time,” said Kranjcar.

“You have to stay concentrated and focused but you have to take your time and come back when it is your time to come back. The best advice is to stay calm and listen to your body. Just don’t force it as trying to hurry back into training can set you back.

“We have all said you would miss him in any team and Spurs and the national team have both missed him.”

Redknapp is refusing to rush Modric back but admitted: “It has been a lot slower than expected. We expected it to be six weeks and it has already been twice that. It’s difficult to put a timescale on it. We can’t rush him back, he’s working hard.”