Tour of Far East called off

Villa were to play against Shenzhen in Guangdong, China on May 23rd and then Shandong in Hong Kong on May 25th, but have withdrawn on Foriegn Office advice.

A spokesman for the club confirmed: "Given the current situation concerning SARS in parts of Asia, we felt that it was unwise for us to travel.

"We regret that but it is vital that we do not put the welfare of any of our players or staff at risk."