Aston Villa supporters have every reason to be excited this season as they mount their promotion challenge heading into the festive period under Dean Smith. 

The dark times of the club's previous demise seem a distant memory, but one man who still remains at the club from those dark eras is Ross McCormack.

The 32-year-old is still contracted to the club, but is currently out on loan in Australia with Central Coast Mariners.

He has scored once in five league matches over in Australia, but his aims of reigniting his career, which has definitely taken a downward spiral in recent years, has suffered a setback.

Central Coast Mariners head coach, Mike Mulvey revealed in a post-match press conference that the forward is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury.

"Ross McCormack is probably out for about four to five weeks, he's tweaked his knee," Mulvey revealed.

"He's seeing the surgeon on Monday. We'll work out a plan for him to get back."

The Verdict

Firstly, this is really frustrating news for McCormack, who is going to be disappointed with his latest setback.

He's at an age where he is needing to be playing regular football, and with his long-term future uncertain, he is missing valuable time out on the field to impress his current employers.

It's been a bad couple of years at Villa for McCormack. He must be so frustrated with how things are going.

Thoughts? Let us know!