Dunne suffers injury blow

Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne could miss up to a month of football with a shoulder injury.

The Ireland international suffered the injury in Villa’s 3-0 FA Cup fifth-round loss to Manchester City on Wednesday, and had to be replaced by Kyle Walker with seven minutes to go.

Villa boss Gerard Houllier said the injury was a blow for his side, but claimed Villa’s sparse fixture list over the next month meant it was not as severe as it could have been.

“Unfortunately, we’re going to lose Richard Dunne for three to four weeks with a shoulder problem,” Houllier said.

“The good thing is, we haven’t got many games during that period.”

Dunne will miss English Premier League games against Bolton and Wolves, but should be available for his side’s trip to Goodison to take on Everton on April 2.