Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne has suffered a setback in his recovery from an ongoing knee injury.
The 31-year old has been struggling with the problem this season and will need plenty of treatment this week to get up for Saturday's trip to Blackburn after it flared up in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United on the weekend.
Villa boss Gerard Houllier admitted Dunne had an issue with the knee and insisted he would loathe to lose the centre-half who has formed a strong partnership with James Collins in defence.
"Richard's knee has swollen up and it is a recurring thing," the French tactician said.
"That is why he missed two or three games earlier in the season.
"He is important to us and I like the attitude of all my older players because they are good tutors (for the younger players) in terms of training and attitude towards the job.
"The two centre-backs (Dunne and James Collins) are fantastic people. They encourage and sometimes they give a rollicking."
