Curtis Davies may have been out for some time now but it has to be said that Villa have not exactly missed him.
In the absence of the England man, Carlos Cuellar has been given a chance at centre half and he has most definitely taken it.
The Spaniard has been superb of late and looked almost imperious at the Stadium of Light on Tuesday night.
His fine recent form has even led to speculation that he may get a call-up for Spain sooner rather than later and he would undoubtedly relish the chance to star for his country.
Amazingly, or maybe not considering his recent defensive brilliance, Cuellar has even been linked with a move back to his homeland to Real Madrid no less.
The La Liga giants are desperate to obtain sufficient cover for stylish Portuguese centre-back Pepe, who could be out for up to six months, and they could turn to Villa's in-form man.
Cuellar has undergone a quite remarkable reversal of fortunes because last season he was hapless both at right-back and at centre-half.
Martin O'Neill often chose to play him in an unfavoured right-sided role and his distribution really let him down.
Experience
When he was occasionally switched to the middle, the man nicknamed 'Ugly Betty' put in some less than attractive performances with nerves taking their toll.
Another factor that did not help him was the presence of Davies who, it has to be said, was often a source of uncertainty.
Cuellar could not cope with being called upon to cover for Curtis. Zat Knight had the same problem and was eventually booted out to Bolton and - in truth - there was only one man who could hold the whole back four together - Martin Laursen.
The Dane was so commanding that he made Davies look useful. He would put his body on the line and his immense experience really helped out his teammates.
When Laursen got injured the impact was there for all to see. Villa endured a barren second half of the season and fell out of Champions League contention.
Had he stayed, and had Cuellar been given a prolonged run alongside him in the defence then things would undoubtedly been different.
Now, though, there is Richard Dunne - a man built in the mould of Villa's commanding captain of last season.
Credit
Dunne is so aware of everything that is going on around him and he has formed great partnerships with both Cuellar and James Collins during the first part of this campaign.
He is a big reason for the brilliant run of form that the Claret and Blue are currently enjoying.
Davies is set to return in January but in all honesty he will really struggle to get back into the team as it stands.
He will need to learn from the likes of Dunne, who knows where to position himself at key times, and he will need to learn fast.
The former West Brom man undoubtedly has some talent - he was called up to the England squad by Fabio Capello so he is no mug.
But, he is still young and for a man who cost nearly £10m he has a big point to prove.
At the moment, though, Villa are the points experts – they have 32 of them no less - and Cuellar and Dunne who are getting the credit.