Martin Laursen was left frustrated after his knee injury robbed him of being an ever present for the second time.
Villa defender left frustrated by recent knee injury
Aston Villa defender Martin Laursen has revealed his disappointment after his knee injury robbed him of the chance to be an ever present for a second successive season.
Laursen returned for Villa's 2-1 derby day win over West Brom on Saturday after missing the club's last three games against Arsenal, Hull and Gillingham.
Despite their skipper's absence, due to a knee injury picked up in the win over West Ham, Villa managed to come through the games unbeaten.
The 31-year-old has been a key player during Martin O'Neill's time at the club after battling back from a career-threatening injury to his other knee in 2006.
"It's always frustrating to miss games and that was certainly the case for me when I had to sit out the last two Premier League fixtures of 2008 with a knee injury," he told the
Birmingham Mail.
"Before then I'd enjoyed an unbroken league run stretching back to April 2007 and I'd had my sights set on becoming an ever present for the second consecutive season.
"But my knee felt sore after the game at West Ham just before Christmas.
"It was clear I'd taken some sort of knock at Upton Park and our medical men felt it was best for me to rest a while.
"Unfortunately that meant my target of playing in every league game had gone."
