Training ground bust-up puts Danny Drinkwater’s Aston Villa future in doubt

Danny Drinkwater’s Aston Villa future remains in limbo after a training ground bust-up with Jota.

The midfielder was sent home on Tuesday following an altercation with team-mate Jota at Bodymoor Heath.

He is likely to be fined but any further punishment is yet to be discussed, the PA news agency understands.

Drinkwater, 30, has made four appearances for Villa after signing on loan from Chelsea in January but is ineligible to face his parent club when they travel to Villa Park on Saturday.

It is the second incident Drinkwater has been involved in this season after he got into an altercation in a nightclub which sidelined him during his loan at Burnley.

He has played just 12 times for Chelsea in two seasons after joining from Leicester in 2017.

The incident is another issue for Villa, who are second bottom in the Premier League after four straight defeats, and also lost the Carabao Cup final 2-1 to Manchester City earlier this month.

Villa were beaten 4-0 at Leicester on Monday to increase the pressure on manager Dean Smith.

Drinkwater was brought in to help their relegation fight but Villa are two points from safety with 10 games remaining.