Aston Villa given Karim El Ahmadi injury boost

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert has revealed that Karim El Ahmadi has escaped with only a sore shin after being tackled by Ramires during Saturday's win over Chelsea.

Ramires was shown a straight red card by Chris Foy for lunging in on the Villa midfielder towards the end of the match at Villa Park.

Lambert believes that El Ahmadi is lucky not to have suffered a serious injury in the incident.

"If Karim comes in from another angle, he breaks his leg. It was shocking. He has got a sore one but thankfully he's okay," the Scot told the club's official website.

"He has a sore one on his shin. It certainly could have been worse."

Villa are back in action this Saturday when they entertain Stoke City.