Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has claimed that 34-year-old goalkeeper Tom Heaton could rejoin the group next week.
The experienced shot stopper has been recovering from a knee injury since last season and he is close to returning to action now.
Heaton has already begun work with the Aston Villa goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler and it will be interesting to see if he can regain his foreman fitness in the coming weeks.
Aston Villa signed Emiliano Martinez from Arsenal earlier in the summer as their number one keeper and it will be interesting to see if he Heaton can regain his starting berth from the Argentine.
Martinez has been quite impressive for Aston Villa so far and Dean Smith is unlikely to drop him as soon as Heaton returns.
The 34 year old will have to work hard to get back into the team and he might be a backup to Martinez in the coming weeks.
Heaton’s return to action will come as a boost to the team and Smith will be delighted with the depth at his disposal now.
Aston Villa are doing very well in the Premier League right now and Heaton will be hoping to help them improve even further.
The 34-year-old will need a few weeks to regain his match fitness and it would be ideal if Aston Villa used the Cup games to help him regain his sharpness.
