'Super frustrated' - Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard responds to Bertrand Traore latest setback

Steven Gerrard admits he's "super frustrated" at Bertrand Traore's latest injury setback. The Burkinabe forward will miss Villa's trip to Leicester with a groin injury.

Traore, 26, has picked up a series of groin and hamstring injuries this season, while also testing positive for Covid during the Africa Cup of Nations with Burkina Faso. Traore arrived back from that very tournament with another hamstring setback, with Villa's hierarchy said to be angered at the ex-Lyon man's involvement in Burkina Faso's third place play-off.

Since returning from that hamstring injury, Traore has been an unused substitute in five of Villa's last six games, and only made a 20-minute cameo appearance in the defeat to Arsenal last month.

The £17million signing is said to be frustrated at his lack of match minutes but, on Thursday, limped out of training once more but could return against Norwich next week. He's managed just 171 minutes of Premier League action this term across seven appearances. Last season, Traore played in 36 of Villa's 38 fixtures, scoring seven times.

On Traore's troubles, Gerrard told : "I've been super frustrated with this one. I saw him in the Premier League previously and he is capable of scoring and creating. He has big talent.

"But I turned up and he was injured. We got him back fit, allowed him to go away to the Africa Cup of Nations, he came back injured. We got him back fit and yesterday he dropped out injured. We haven't seen enough of the boy. In terms of his body this season since we came in, we haven't been able to trust it to be available and play. That has been frustrating because he is a big talent."

On Villa's current plight having lost four on the spin while sitting three places above the drop zone,