The Dutch defender was stretchered off after only 12 minutes of Villa's Intertoto Cup third-round victory over Odense on Saturday.

Initial fears were Bouma had suffered a horrific broken leg, however O'Neill has confirmed the 30-year-old has dislocated his ankle.

Despite admitting his relief that Bouma - who has had his ankle set in plaster - has not fractured his leg, O'Neill recognises the serious extent of the injury and confesses the left-back will be missed.

"It's a dislocation," O'Neill told Villa's official website. "Thankfully the skin isn't broken, which is really good news. They've [the doctors] re-set it and he's now in plaster.

big blow

"It's obviously a serious injury to a player who's been playing exceptionally well - he had a great, great season last year and he will be missed.

"We wish him all the very best and the injury is a big blow to us."

Villa won the match 1-0, with Ashley Young scoring the goal.

The winger said of Bouma: "It was sad to see him get injured like that.

"I was first on the scene and it was fairly obvious it was a nasty one.

"But the medical staff got on the pitch pretty quickly and hopefully Wilfred has a pretty speedy recovery."

www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk