Illness woes for Villa

London - Aston Villa's preparations for the visit of Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday have been disrupted by illness, manager Tim Sherwood said.

The 46-year-old confirmed that several first-team players had missed training on Friday.

"There are a couple who are not here today because they're ill," Sherwood told a news conference.

"A few players have not be able to make training and the docs will assess them. They are not well now but we hope they will be okay for tomorrow," he added.

"Hopefully, by then it's found its way to the north east (to Sunderland)," he said.

Sherwood also confirmed that 19-year-old former Barcelona forward Adama Traore had not trained since picking up an ankle injury in Villa's 5-3 midweek win over Notts County in the League Cup.