“Last week, before the Manchester United game when I had a fitness test, I couldn’t run 10 yards because the heel was so sore," Savage told the B'ham Evening Mail. “It’s improved about 60 per cent during the past few days but the risk is too great for me to do anything other than rest. “Hopefully, after four or five days next week I should be okay and I am looking at the Villa game. But you never know.”
Savage was forced to sit-out the Blues Premiership game at Old Trafford last weekend and on Thursday was forced to withdraw from the Wales squad that face Serbia & Montenegro in the Euro 2004 qualifier on Saturday with the same Achilles injury.
Now the influential Blues midfielder is targetting the first Birmingham derby of the season at St. Andrew's next week for a return to action.
