Steven Gerrard mindful of pushing Aston Villa star too hard after injury setback

Steven Gerrard is hopeful of having Marvelous Nakamba back in contention for Wolves after the international break. The Zimbabwean has been out since early December after rupturing knee ligaments following Aston Villa's 1-0 defeat at Anfield.

Nakamba will partake in group training alongside Villa's under-23s this week and could play in an in-house game as he steps up his return after almost four months out. "I've been continuing to speak with the medical team here who tell me how to make my leg stronger and to recover faster and quicker and so on," Nakamba outlined recently.

"I’m working on being stronger mentally, physically, everything. I try to keep myself positive. My team-mates have been there for me from the day I had my surgery, supporting and encouraging me. Some of them have been through these injuries."

Speaking ahead of the Wolves fixture in 10 days' time, Gerrard said of Nakamba: "Marvelous will be in full training for us after the international break, which is positive. He's not too far away and he'll do certain sessions with our under-23 group next week. We’ll integrate him into the first team set-up. That's good news for us."

It's likely that Nakamba will play for Villa's under-23s against Stoke City at Villa Park on Friday, April 1 (7pm) with the hope of having the ex-Club Brugge man in the squad for Villa's match with Spurs a week later. Elsewhere, Lucas Digne and Kortney Hause are both pushing to be fit and available after the international break after both missing the defeat against Arsenal due to respective hamstring and muscle injuries.

Should Nakamba, Digne and Hause return, it'll mean Gerrard will have a full squad to choose from for Villa's remaining games. The boss will be hoping his international