Nigel Reo-Coker has been welcomed back into Aston Villa Football Club’s plans.

The midfielder had a much-publicised bust-up with manager Martin O’Neill earlier this season, which resulted in him being excluded from the first team for more than a month.

However, Reo-Coker was back in action against Sunderland in the Carling Cup in midweek, and skipper Stiliyan Petrov is glad to see the former West Ham United star back.

"Nigel is a very important player for us," he said. "He has shown down the years he is a fighter, he is a character and what happened is (gone). We don't even pay attention to this anymore.

"Nigel is back, he performed very well against Sunderland, was very strong and he showed the manager how important he is to us. It is great to see Nigel back."

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