If his task was not already hard enough, Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will be preparing for the visit of Bolton Wanderers without midfielder Birkir Bjarnason who is out, having limped off in the 1-0 defeat to QPR, as reported in the Birmingham Mail.

The loss made it back to back defeats for Smith and he will be hoping for a reaction from his squad, as he looks to take all three points against the team in 19th place in the Championship.

But is the absence of Bjarnason much of a loss to Villa?

We discuss.....

Gary Hutchinson

I’m not sure it is.

He’s a decent player, but it isn’t like Villa are short of a midfielder or two, is it?

Jedinak and McGinn can play together.

This won’t be the biggest blow they suffer.

Jay Taylor

A big loss but Aston Villa have depth in that position so having a player come in for him will see them no worse off than if he was playing.

The likes of Conor Hourihane and Henri Lansbury are more than capable of deputising for Birkir Bjarnason on Friday night.

Jacob Potter

Villa already have an ideal replacement lined up.

Bjarnason has been in good form for Villa this season but Conor Hourihane is a more than worthy replacement to step into the centre of midfield alongside John McGinn.

Hourihane has shown glimpses of his quality this season and will be hoping to keep Bjarnason out of the Villa starting XI when he returns.

George Harbey

I think Bjarnason is an unsung hero at Villa.

He’s built up a good partnership with McGinn in midfield over the last few weeks, and is your typical Smith player.

Hourihane could fit in for the time being.