Carew's niggles troubling Villa

Aston Villa could be without striker John Carew at Arsenal this weekend because of a persistent injury worry.

The club's joint top scorer is seeing a specialist to help overcome the back and thigh problems that kept him out of the home defeat against Middlesbrough.

"John is really struggling at the moment," Villa boss Martin O'Neill told the club website.

"The discomfort seems to have moved from his back to the front thigh area. He is in discomfort, we will see."

Carew was visibly struggling towards the end of the Uefa Cup win against Slavia Prague in the Czech Republic last week, but O'Neill remains optimistic that his absence will be a short one.

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"He had scans that have come up pretty decently. He is going for tests now with the specialist, so we will see accordingly," O'Neill said.

There is better news regarding recent absentees Stiliyan Petrov and Luke Young, both of whom are likely to be available for the trip to the Emirates Stadium.

Midfielder Petrov has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury while right-back Young had been struggling with a thigh problem.

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