Aston Villa midfielder Birkir Bjarnason will be out for six to eight weeks with the knee injury sustained in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Rotherham United.

The Iceland international was making his first start since the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle two weeks ago, having been among the substitutes for the victories over Derby County and Bristol City at Villa Park.

Bjarnason, who joined Villa from Swiss side FC Basel in the January transfer window, has been in and out of the team and used in a variety of roles by Steve Bruce.

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But the midfielder is now set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines which will see him miss the majority of the remainder of the campaign, if not all of it.

Iceland will be without Bjarnason for their clash with Kosovo on March 24 in what will be their first competitive international without their no.8 since 2011.Midfielder Jack Grealish is also out injured as Villa come to the John Smith’s Stadium to take on David Wagner’s Huddersfield Town.

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Keinan Davies, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Jerell Sellars and Khalid Abdo are all regulars in the Villa Under 23 side but were left out against Wolves, seemingly in case they are needed for the senior squad.

Town are looking to bounce back from their 3-1 home defeat to Newcastle United while Villa are looking for a fourth successive win under former Town boss Steve Bruce.