Aston Villa central defender Curtis Davies is hoping to avoid surgery on his right shoulder.
Villa defender keen to avoid surgery
Curtis Davies is hoping to avoid surgery on a long-standing right shoulder injury which flared up again during the Peace Cup in Spain.
The Aston Villa defender experienced problems with the shoulder when a West Brom player and again last season.
His latest setback with the injury came against Porto in a pre-season friendly on Friday, but Villa boss Martin O'Neill insists surgery is not an option at this juncture.
Villa midfielder Stiliyan Petrov (shoulder) and right-back Luke Young (thigh) are already battling to be fit for the start of the campaign.
O'Neill said: "It is concerning that the shoulder seems a little weak.
"But at this stage we are not considering an operation to strengthen the shoulder."
