Aston Villa skipper John Terry is in a race against time to be fit for this weekend's crucial clash with Ipswich Town.

The 37-year old has already missed matches against Cardiff City and Leeds United after sustaining an ankle injury against Norwich a couple of weeks ago, but Villa are still sweating on his fitness for this weekend.

“We will see where John is because he’s still got a sore ankle," Steve Bruce told the Express and Star. "He wasn’t anywhere near for Leeds. We’ve got a week until Ipswich now but Jedinak has come in and performed well. He was easily our best player at centre-back. He was terrific at centre-back and has done really well for us.”

The form of Mile Jedinak has softened the blow somewhat for Villa, the Australian defender has stepped in with assured performances in Terry's absence. He's set to star for the Socceroos in this summer's World Cup in Russia.

Villa travel to Portman Road still harbouring slim hopes of a top two finish, although they're four points behind Cardiff with just two matches to play.

The Verdict

This is a blow, but not a terrible one.

]Terry has had a decent season at the back for Villa, but there's no hardship in using a World Cup defender as cover in his absence.

It seems surprising Villa are still in the play off spots and not the top two, but that shows the competitiveness in the top four this season. Villa are best ensuring Terry is fully fit for any potential play off matches rather than risking him chasing points that ultimately might not even matter.