Tommy Elphick is cursing an injury which has affected his chances of playing back at the Amex against former team-mate and close friend Glenn Murray.

The ex-Seagull hurt a calf in Steve Bruce's opening game in charge of Aston Villa, who visit on November 18.

The damage sustained in the 1-1 draw against Wolves has left Brighton-born Elphick playing catch-up in the early stages of Bruce's reign.

The central defender returned as a substitute in the closing stages of Villa's 2-1 home win against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and had a run-out for the under-23s against Celtic at Villa Park last night.

Elphick dropped back into the Championship when he joined Villa from Bournemouth in June on a three-year contract for a reported £3 million.

He was the first signing during the shortlived reign of Roberto Di Matteo, who made him captain.

Bruce had £9 million summer buy James Chester, who played for him at Hull, and Nathan Baker in the centre of defence against Blackburn as Villa stretched their unbeaten run to five matches under their new boss.

Elphick's dad, Gary, told The Argus: "He got a calf injury in the Wolves game.

"He's back and everything is okay. It's just unfortunate he got injured when the new manager has come in but that's the nature of the beast.

"He's settled in fine. It's a bigger club, a bit of a different animal.

"Everything seemed to fall into place. It was a good opportunity for him. When the timing's right things happen for a reason and it was a good time to move.

"Tommy has always felt he wanted to play at some stage of his career at what you could term a big club."

 

The Argus: Elphick, 29, made more than 150 league appearances over seven years for Albion (above) before moving to Bournemouth in August 2012 for £200,000.

An Achilles injury during the latter stages of his long stint with the Seagulls meant he never got to play for them at the Amex.

He helped Bournemouth (below) to a win and draw at the stadium and led them into the Premier League.

The Argus: Centre-forward Murray was a team-mate at Bournemouth last season before rejoining the Seagulls on loan, while Elphich headed for the West Midlands.