Injury will make no difference to Curtis Davies deal

Mar 5 2008 By John Curtis, PA Sport

CENTRAL defender Curtis Davies' move from West Bromwhich Albion to Aston Villa will be made permanent in the summer despite the player now facing a lengthy lay-off through injury.

Davies moved from the Hawthorns to Villa in August for an initial season long loan before being due to make the switch long term this summer in a £8million deal.

Now he is resigned to spending at least six or seven months on the sidelines after rupturing an Achilles tendon during the first half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium.

But the deal is set in stone and will not delay Davies from becoming a full-time Villa player in May even though it could be October before he is in a position to play football again.

Baggies manager Tony Mowbray confirmed: "Is the Curtis Davies deal affected in any way by his injury? No."

The deal is similarly structured to the one which saw goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak move from West Brom to Manchester United on a year long loan before moving permanently to Old Trafford.