Aston Villa are going well in the Sky Bet Championship and have promotion in their sights after a run of four consecutive victories leading into the international break.

Dean Smith is starting to finally get things right after an inconsistent spell, with the final eight fixtures promising to be exciting for the Villa Park faithful.

Yet, there is worry over the availability of Tammy Abraham, who picked up a calf problem in the 3-0 win over Middlesbrough last time out.

[ad_pod ]

 

Aidy Boothroyd has explained to the Daily Mail how it is just a case of managing Abraham, who is currently with the England under-21 squad, with his international boss playing down any serious concern.

Firstly, for Abraham, it’s going to be frustrating if he misses out on the upcoming internationals. We know the 21-year-old is a hugely motivated figure who has eyes on reaching the very top of English football with parent-club, Chelsea.

So, sitting out against Poland will grate on the striker. But he’s got to understand England’s point of not wanting to aggravate any underlying injury, or getting on the wrong side of Villa.

Whilst Villa’s upturn in recent weeks has coincided with Jack Grealish’s return to the midfield, you can’t underestimate Abraham’s importance to the side.

 

The Chelsea loanee is a threat and he’s scored some important goals over the course of his loan spell in the Midlands. In 32 Championship appearances he has 21 goals and two assists, an impressive tally, even if he’s only scored once in those last four wins.

Fine margins will decide if Villa reach the play-offs and give themselves a chance of challenging for promotion, and however important Grealish is, it could be Abraham’s goals that make that difference in the end.

The England youngster needs to put international frustrations behind him and focus on the bigger picture.