Benteke Back in Villa Training, May Face City Next Weekend

Christian Benteke could make his Aston Villa return on Saturday against Premier League champions Manchester City following his recovery from an ankle injury.

The 23-year-old has been out since rupturing his Achilles in April, which caused him to miss out on Belgium squad for the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Villa manager Paul Lambert said: “We’ll see how he does this week. He’s been back for a fortnight now.

Christian Benteke Celebrates Scoring for Aston Villa. Image: AFP/Getty.
Christian Benteke Celebrates Scoring for Aston Villa. Image: AFP/Getty.

“You’ve got to remember he’s been out for five months and has only been in full training for two weeks. I’ll have that dialogue with him. We’ll see how he feels.

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“If he thinks he’s justified to go in with his fitness levels then that’s something that myself and the staff will decide.”

The striker has scored 34 goals in 67 games for Villa since joining them from Belgian club Genk in August 2012.

“First and foremost I don’t think there’s any pressure on him,” Lambert stressed. “You don’t heap pressure on somebody that’s just coming back from that injury.

“If Christian can do what he did in his first year and up until he got injured then that’s great.”

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