‘Truly amazing’ – Exclusive: Hutton blown away by Aston Villa player after ‘Outstanding’ feat
Alan Hutton showered Aston Villa defender James Chester after he managed to play 77 minutes against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider correspondent Laura O’Leary, the former Villans right-back revealed he thought it was ‘honestly outstanding’ that Chester managed to play a chunk of minutes against the Reds given his recent knee problems.
The 30-year-old centre-back was making his first appearance of the season for the senior side in Villa’s 5-0 win over Liverpool with his other outings in the current campaign coming for the club’s U-23’s side.
Hutton explained that he saw the work Chester put in first-hand to recover from his recent knee injury and tipped the veteran to push for a starting spot in Dean Smith’s in the coming months.
When asked if it was fantastic to see Chester play against the Reds, Hutton told Football Insider: “Yeah, it was truly amazing.
“What a guy he is, a great leader on-and-off the pitch.
“And to be out for 11 months with knee problems, I really felt for him.
“When I was out with my knee problems, I was in the gym with him, so we went through a lot of hard work together.
“So to see him come back and play 77 minutes was honestly outstanding because he has been such a big player since he came to the club.
“He never missed a minute up until the knee injuries so it was great to see him and to be honest it was easy for him.
“It looked like he’d hardly been away, maybe towards the end he ran out of steam.
“But I’m sure in the upcoming months, he’ll be trying to push for a start.”
Chester has been at Villa Park since joining the Villans from West Bromwich Albion in 2016 and he has made 125 appearances for the club.
The experienced defender’s current contract is set to expire in the summer, with it not known as of yet if the club will offer him a new deal.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton dubbed one Villans player ‘World class’ after wowing in his last two outings.