By Ryan Ghee
February 13 2006

Aston Villa boss David O'Leary is expected to show his annoyance at Eric Djemba Djemba's late return from international duty by hitting the player with a heavy fine. The Cameroon international failed to return to Villa Park after the African Cup of Nations and his agent, Christophe Mongai, has told O'Leary that his client has been in his native country.

Although the midfielder is expected to return to training today, the Villa boss is expected to punish him for going absent without leave.

Mongai said, "Eric called me on Thursday night and left a message on my phone. He told me he was in Cameroon and was flying back to Birmingham on Saturday.

"But he did not say why he had stayed away and I can understand why the Aston Villa manager wants to fine him for this."

Since Djemba's £1.5m move from Manchester United just over a year ago, the hard-hitting midfielder has failed to establish himself as a first-team regular. After criticising the Villa boss for his negative tactics earlier in the season, this latest event may well signal the end of Djemba's short Villa career.