BIRMINGHAM // Martin O'Neill has insisted James Milner will have a big role to play at Aston Villa despite only using him sparingly since his £12million (Dh81.3m) move from Newcastle.
Milner joined Villa on a permanent basis towards the end of the transfer window last month after spending the 2005-2006 campaign on loan at the midlands club.
But he has had to battle for his place and has yet to start a league game since his return.
Milner was only a substitute for last weekend's victory at West Brom before being cup-tied for the shock Carling Cup reversal at home to QPR on Wednesday.
He must wait to see if he will start in tomorrow's meeting with Sunderland but O'Neill is adamant he will be a vital cog in the Villa machine for many years to come.
"We went into the West Brom game with the same side as against Tottenham the previous Monday and the same side as against Liverpool - but James will play. Don't worry about that," O'Neill said.
"We've got another 1,000 games to play. James didn't sign for a month and a half! He will play and so will Carlos Cuellar.
"James couldn't play against QPR because he was cup-tied. I get asked 'where I am I going to fit James in'. It is a nice problem to have. But he will play. He didn't come here to sit on the bench."
Milner will be in contention to face Roy Keane's side as O'Neill looks to freshen things up for Villa's fifth game in 13 days.
* PA Sport
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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57 Seconds
Director: Rusty Cundieff
Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Morgan Freeman, Greg Germann, Lovie Simone
Rating: 2/5