Confirmed: Aston Villa attacking trio ruled out of clash v Derby

By Amir Mir

Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has confirmed that the attacking trio of Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Gabby Agbonlahor and Scott Hogan will miss the Derby game on Saturday afternoon.

Villa take on Steve McClaren's side in front of their own supporters looking to end their five-match losing streak.

Bruce revealed that academy duo Hepburn-Murphy and Agbonlahor are a "couple of weeks away", while Hogan could miss "a month" of action after going off on a stretcher against Newcastle on Monday night.

It means the struggling Championship side would be left with one senior striker in Jonathan Kodjia as a potential relegation battle looms for the club.

Ahead of the match against the Rams, Bruce delivered an update on the attacking trio's injuries.

"Hepburn-Murphy and Gabby are still a couple of weeks away and Scott Hogan is out for, hopefully, a month," said Bruce, as quoted by the club's official Facebook Page.

Teenager Hepburn-Murphy has only featured on two occasions for the club this term, while the club's longest-serving player, Agbonlahor was brought back from the cold in October.

Since then, the 30-year-old has played 11 Championship games, where he has assisted one goal, but he is yet to find the back of the net.

By contrast, Hogan was a January signing by the club when the former non-league player made a switch from rivals Brentford.

He has played four matches for Villa, suffering a defeat on each occasion as he is yet to get off the mark for this new club.

In other Aston Villa news, Steve Bruce has delivered his verdict on Christopher Samba.

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