Aston Villa midfielder sent 'big boost' message ahead of Arsenal match

Aston Villa supporters have widely welcomed the news that Marvelous Nakamba will be returning to fitness soon after the international break.

Head coach Steven Gerrard confirmed ahead of Saturday's meeting with Arsenal that the 28-year-old "will be in full training for us after the international break". Nakamba has been on the sidelines since last December with a knee issue.

"Marvelous Nakamba will be in full training for us after the international break, which is positive," said Gerrard at a pre-match press conference on Friday. "He's not too far away, and he'll do certain sessions with our under-23 group next week."

The defensive midfielder started all of Gerrard's first five matches in charge before being forced off against Liverpool at Anfield. The Zimbabwe international has since missed the last 13 domestic matches and was also absent from the Africa Cup of Nations when his nation finished bottom of their group.

Both club and country have missed the player's presence in midfield, with Douglas Luiz filling in as the deepest midfielder in the Premier League. Here is a selection of the reaction from our Villa Facebook page to the news that Nakamba will be back training with the senior squad later this month.

Had missed this guy, I'm glad Nakamba will be back soon.

Can’t wait for Nakamba to be back, Luiz offers absolutely nothing to the team.

Nakamba due to return is a big boost in the closing stages, we were a lot more secure with him protecting the back four, hopefully, he can return to that form.

Marvelous news!

Nakamba is a headless chicken, I think we seem to lose a lot of games when he plays.

Good to see you coming back, buddy.