Aston Villa have ordered highly-rated striker Stefan Moore to take a complete
rest to protect a weak ligament in his knee.
The England Under-20 striker could be sidelined for up to six weeks but Villa
manager Graham Taylor is determined to ensure he completely recovers before
returning to action.
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Moore: New contract
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Moore shot to prominence when he scored a hat-trick against Everton - who
featured Wayne Rooney - in last season's FA Youth Cup final.
Moore he scored a superb first Premiership goal against Charlton before making his
full debut against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Taylor said: `There is no doubt that Stefan is now
there on merit as one of our set of strikers challenging for a first team spot
and I've been pleased with what he has shown so far.
`But he's had this scan on his knee which has shows the ligament is weakened
a little and has some slight damage and we've been advised just to give him some
rest for a while.
`It would be silly of us to keep pushing him. It is one of those things where
you could actually keep training with it and it's not going to make it all that
better - but you run the risk of making it substantially worse.
`It is hard for a young player, who is itching to play now, that for his
long-term benefit that it is far better not to do anything for five or six weeks
to get the knee right for the future.'
The problem forced Moore, whose brother Luke is also on Villa's books, to pull
out of the Under-20 squad for this week's international with Switzerland.
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