Davies was back in the squad five months on from his injury

Aston Villa centre-back Curtis Davies is delighted to have returned to the side two months sooner than expected.

The former West Brom defender played an hour of last weekend's friendly at Reading just five months after rupturing his Achilles at Arsenal.

"To be back actually playing is a great achievement, but fitness has never been a problem," Davies told BBC WM.

"I'm probably one of the fittest lads in the team running-wise, now it's just a case of getting my timing right."

Davies was thrown back into first-team duty 48 hours after an initial run out in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Notts County at Villa's training ground.

"I wasn't surprised because the gaffer saw the Notts County game - I'm sure he saw what I could do then," Davies noted.

"I know he wanted to see me in a more competitive game, and against Leroy Lita and Kevin Doyle it was always going to be a hard task."