Moore fitness boost for Aston Villa

Nov 22 2007 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

LUKE Moore believes he will be fit to face Middlesbrough after revealing he has been struggling with a niggling groin injury for some time.

Moore pulled out of the England Under-21 squad for their back-to-back qualifiers against Bulgaria and Portugal but is already back in training.

The young striker said: "I did quite a hard training session yesterday, with the gaffer putting us through some running, and it felt fine so hopefully I should be fit for the weekend providing I don't suffer any setbacks."

Moore picked up the injury at St Andrew's when he entered as a second-half substitute.

"I had a groin problem from the end of the Blues game but it wasn't too bad and I joined up with the England Under-21s.

"Unfortunately, it wasn't show-ing too many signs of getting better, so they had to call it a day and bring Ishmel Miller in because I was no good to the squad.

"They thought that it would be best for me to come home as a precaution because they didn't want to cause a problem to the club."

Moore added: "They got two good results in my absence, a win against Bulgaria and draw in Portugal, and we're top of the group so it all bodes well."

Gabriel Agbonlahor, who pulled out of the Under-21 game on Tuesday with an injury, should also be fit for Saturday.