Vassell breaks ankle

The 24-year-old England striker suffered the setback midway through the second half after a challenge by Papa Bouba Diop, and his worse fears were confirmed this morning when X-rays revealed the fracture. He will now be sidelined until the new year, leaving David O'Leary with just two senior strikers in Juan Pablo Angel and on-loan Chelsea player Carlton Cole, to take them through to the January transfer window.

With Angel himself not yet at full fitness after a knee injury, the club may recall Stefan Moore from Millwall to join his brother Luke as backup, before launching an earnest bid for Southampton's James Beattie early next year. Although Vassell has not been in the most prolific form this season and has a solitary goal to his name, he showed a lot of improvement against Fulham and found himself in several promising positions.

His loss is therefore a blow to both O'Leary, and fans within a ten-mile radius of Villa Park who may now be deafened by the high pitched whine the Irishman is emitting. In truth, he has grounds for frustration as Vassell joins a growing list of absentees, including Gareth Barry, Martin Laursen and Liam Ridgewell, from what is already one of the smallest squads in the Premiership.