Ashley Preece reveals big boost for Gerrard as 'vital' Villa star returns to training pre-Wolves

Aston Villa trio Lucas Digne, Marvelous Nakamba and Kortney Hause will all return to training ahead of the clash with Wolves next weekend. 

Villa’s season run-in begins with the short trip to Molineux on Saturday afternoon following the international break.

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Digne missed the 1-0 defeat against Arsenal last time out after sustaining a hamstring injury just 10 minutes into the clash with West Ham United earlier this month.

Hause has been absent for the last three Premier League three matches with an abdominal problem, while Nakamba’s return has been long-awaited. The Zimbabwean underwent knee surgery in December, sidelining him for 14 top-flight games.

Birmingham Mail‘s Ashley Preece and Leigh Curtis reported that Digne has already returned to full training with his national team France. Meanwhile, Hause will ‘link back up with the group at Bodymoor Heath’ at the beginning of the week.

However, Gerrard is expected to exercise caution with Nakamba as he resumes ‘full training’. The midfielder is unlikely to play against Wolves and could instead feature for the under-23s against Stoke City on Friday night as he aims to build up his fitness.

The Wolves game may come too soon for Nakamba, while you’d imagine that Hause will be confined to the bench, given that he has only started four league matches this season.

However, Digne’s return is a significant boost for Gerrard. The 28-year-old leads the squad for accurate crosses per 90 minutes (1.3) and is also joint-second for chances created with 1.4 (level with Emiliano Buendia and John McGinn, behind Philippe Coutinho on 1.5).

Indeed, Gerrard believes that the £25m January