Bent, Holman fit to play Stoke

Paul Lambert says Darren Bent and Brett Holman will both return to the Aston Villa squad for the English Premier League match against Stoke.

Australia international Holman missed the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool last week with a hamstring issue, while striker Bent has not featured since February 10 due to a variety of niggles, including a virus and an ankle problem.

However, manager Lambert has now confirmed both players will be at his disposal for the game at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

“Darren has trained every day. He will be in the squad,” Lambert told Villa’s official website.

“Darren had that month or so off when he couldn’t do anything with his ankle. But he is back fit now and trained again this morning and is in the squad.

“Brett hasn’t been getting in because Charles (N’Zogbia) has been playing extremely well.

“He wasn’t fit for (the) Liverpool (game). He is fit now. He has trained this week so he is back in the fray.”

Defender Ciaran Clark remains unlikely to feature due to the shoulder problem he picked up on international duty with the Republic of Ireland last month.

“Ciaran has still got a little bit of a problem,” Lambert said.

“We’ll see how he is the rest of the week.

“But he’s still got a problem with his shoulder. He is still a doubt.