Aston Villa defender Zat Knight has spoken of his revulsion at seeing a second team-mate suffer a devasting injury during a match.

Knight was one of several Villa players who recoiled in horror on Saturday when fellow defender Wilfred Bouma suffered an agonising ankle injury which needed emergency surgery and could leave the left-back sidelined for between four and six months.

Knight was also on the scene when former Fulham team-mate Jimmy Bullard dislocated his kneecap during a match against Newcastle in September 2006 – an injury which led to cruciate ligament damage and a lay-off of some nine months.

Bouma was said to be recovering well after surgery on his ankle which was left horrifically skewed following an innocuous challenge from Odense BK striker Baye Djiby Fall during Villa’s 3-2 Intertoto Cup aggregate win at Villa Park – a victory which puts them into the draw for the Uefa Cup’s final qualifying round on Friday.

Knight said: “To see that happen to any player – never mind your own team-mate – is horrible. I turned around and saw it and I had to look the other way. I just couldn’t look anymore.

“That is the second horror injury I have seen on a football pitch. I saw Jimmy Bullard a couple of seasons ago when I was at Fulham and it kind of turns your stomach.”

Knight said although the team did not discuss the injury at half-time as Bouma was taken to Birmingham’s Selly Oak Hospital for treatment, he is convinced that each player vowed to go on and win the game for the Dutchman in the second half.

In the end a 50th-minute Ashley Young goal was enough to give Villa a 1-0 win and their aggregate victory.

Knight said: “I think it did make us strive on and do it for him. We didn’t dwell on it – it was something really we didn’t want to talk about. We just wanted to come out and do well for him and that has happened now. We just had to keep our concentration on the game.”

Knight said former skipper Gareth Barry’s value to the team was now more recognised than ever with the player the only one available to slot into the left back position now left vacant by the injured Bouma.

“We are lucky Gareth Barry has not gone because he can drop in there and he did a great job for us. We have got some more big games now starting next Saturday against Reading (friendly) and hopefully we can do a job again.”

Manager Martin O’Neill hinted after Saturday’s victory that he would be meeting his skipper this week to try and keep him at Villa Park for at least another year now that Villa have moved a giant step closer to qualifiying for European football for this season.

Knight said: “The crowd gave Gareth a great reception (on Saturday) and hopefully we can keep him here. He is a quality player. As a player you just want to keep the best players around you.

“We have just had two hard games now – two competitive games in this competition and I think we have come out and handled them really well.

“It was a little bit strange having pre-season friendlies with a major competition in between but these competitive games in pre-season put you in good stead for the Premier League.This was a good test for us.

“We will all be looking forward to the draw now on Friday and hopefully we can get someone a bit easier! Getting into Europe could be the key to a lot of things – maybe trying to buy players, for example. It is a massive plus.”