Aston Villa Boss Steve Bruce Announces Striker's Return From Injury Ahead of Promotion Run-in

Jonathan Kodjia has returned to action for Aston Villa, possibly just in time to hand the club a boost in their fight for promotion. 

The striker, who was Villa's top scorer last season, is back playing again after injuring his ankle back in October. And he participated in a match which took place behind closed doors this week.

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Manager Steve Bruce, who revealed as much during his Friday presser, has also confirmed that the forward will be in his squad to face Hull City on Saturday.

"He will be involved tomorrow," Bruce said in quotes cited by Villa's official website. "It's a big boost to us all. He played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors game and has trained well since. He looks in good nick.

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"Just at the right time, it looks as if we might have our big centre-forward available again. Jimmy being Jimmy, he wants to be involved, and it's a good time to get involved. It's good news for everybody."

The manager also gave an update on the fitness of other squad members who had been out with injury, claiming that there are no injured players in the pack, although Glenn Whelan might not be ready to play just yet.

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"I don't think I have an injured player at this club at the moment," he declared. "Taylor has trained all week. Tuanzebe is fit. Hutton is fit. The only one this game might have come too soon for is Glenn.

"Everyone has come back from the international break ok, too. So we're in good shape for the run-in."