Petrov to sit out Old Trafford trip

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill is to leave midfielder Stiliyan Petrov out of his plans for Saturday’s Barclays Premiership clash with Manchester United to enable him to recover fully from a hamstring problem.

Petrov, signed from Celtic for £8million in August, has continued to play, despite clearly being less than 100% fit in recent games because, of a lack of players at O’Neill’s disposal.