Shoulder scan for Samuel

Aston Villa defender Jlloyd Samuel has undergone a scan to determine the extent of the shoulder injury suffered during Tuesday’s Carling Cup defeat Burnley.

Samuel was forced out of action after 61-minutes of Villa’s 3-1 defeat and is already rated doubtful for Saturday’s away Premiership meeting with Everton.

The 23-year-old has a remarkable record of having played every minute of 56 successive matches since David O’Leary took charge of Villa 17 months ago.

But that record is now under threat although Samuel is understood to have suffered soft tissue rather than ligament damage. Nothing will be confirmed until the results of the scan are received on Thursday.

A Villa spokesman said: “Jlloyd remains doubtful for the weekend. He had a scan today and now we are awaiting the results.

“We are keeping our fingers crossed because the last thing we would want is another serious injury.”

O’Leary already has one of the smallest squads in the Premiership and Samuel looks set to join Gareth Barry, Darius Vassell and Martin Laursen on the injury list.

The Villa chief does not have another left back to call upon and rookie midfielder Peter Whittingham looks as if he will have to fill the role.

Meanwhile, O’Leary has still to sign his new contract, which would tie him to Villa until the summer of 2008, although talks are expected to be resumed in the next few days.