Gardner boost for Villa

Aston Villa have been boosted by Craig Gardner’s return to training, and he may feature before the season’s end. Gardner has been absent from the last three matches with a thigh strain sustained on international duty with England Under-21s.
He is unlikely to be fit in time for the Birmingham derby at the weekend but is likely to feature in Martin O’Neill’s plans in the near future.
“He trained on Monday – that was his first day back,” O’Neill told the club’s official website.