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Villa optimistic on Bouma's recovery
Mike Collett
Reuters
Sunday 27 July 2008
Dutch international defender Wilfred
Bouma, who sustained a horrific ankle injury in Aston
Villa's Intertoto Cup match against Odense on Saturday,
could be playing again sooner than expected, his club
said.
Bouma, 30, had a successful operation
on his dislocated right ankle on Sunday when the ankle
was reset and a plate inserted to stabilise the area.
"The operation went very well.
Freddie is in good spirits. Everybody is very optimistic
he will make a rapid recovery," Villa manager Martin
O'Neill told the club's website (www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk)
on Monday.
The website report stated the club hoped he would be
playing again within four to six months.
"It was a bad injury but with the level of treatment
he has had and the post-operative prognosis we've been
given, we're all hoping to see him back, perhaps sooner
than everyone expected on Saturday night," added
O'Neill.
The injury happened early in the match against the
Danish side at Villa Park which Villa won 1-0 for a
3-2 aggregate win to secure a place in the final qualifying
round of the UEFA Cup.
O'Neill added: "It's terrible news because he
played every single game last season. He was fantastic
but he'll come through it."
Bouma also made two appearances
for the Netherlands in Euro 2008 and has played 34 times
for his national team. He joined Villa for 3.5 million
pounds from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
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