John Carew touch and go for Manchester United FA Cup tie

Jan 4 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O'Neill has revealed Villa will give Norwegian striker John Carew as much time as possible to get fit for tomorrow's FA Cup clash with Manchester United.

Carew injured his knee in the opening four minutes of the win at Wigan and missed the victory over Spurs.

O'Neill sees positive signs but Carew must remain a major doubt with Luke Moore again set to stand in.

"John Carew is getting there," O'Neill said. "It is touch and go whether he will be fit for the United game.

"He is improving all the time. We'll wait as long as we possibly can.

"At least there are no other injuries for us to worry about."

Meanwhile, there is no truth in reports that 20-year-old Paris St Germain forward Loris Arnaud has been approached by Villa. Arnaud is attracting a lot of attention from clubs in the Premier League and across the continent but O'Neill has his own targets.