Aston Villas Jonathan Kodija could miss start of next season with broken ankle



The 19-goal forward was forced off in the second half of Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Blackburn and is likely to require surgery

The Sky Bet Championship club confirmed Kodjia will now visit a specialist in Europe this week for further tests

Kodjia, 27, joined Villa in a deal worth up to £15million from Bristol City last summer and has kept the club away from relegation danger

The next highest scorers in the league for Villa this season are Jack Grealish and Rudy Gestede - who joined Middlesbrough in January - with just four goals apiece

Villa have struggled since relegation from the Premier League last season and are 12th in the table, 16 points behind the top six, with one game left

They replaced Roberto Di Matteo with Steve Bruce in October after Di Matteo won just once in his opening 12 games

Bruce has won 15 and lost 14 of his 35 matches in charge

Villa end the season at home to Brighton on Sunday with the Seagulls needing a win to clinch the title

Source : PA

Source: PA