Injury setback for Dunne

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is resigned to being without experienced defender Richard Dunne until the new year as his groin and hip problems show little signs of improvement.

The Republic of Ireland international has not kicked a ball in anger since Euro 2012. It has left Villa shorn of experience in the back four, with the sale of James Collins to West Ham and the loaning out of Stephen Warnock and Alan Hutton to Bolton and West Ham respectively.