STUART Holden has been pencilled-in to make his first team comeback against Aston Villa in the Carling Cup.

The US international, who has been out of action since March, came through 90 minutes for the reserves against Arsenal in midweek.

He could be considered for a place on the bench against Norwich this afternoon but Owen Coyle revealed that the midfielder is more likely to feature on Tuesday night at Villa Park.

“Stuart is certainly getting closer but whether he's right to start against Norwich, I think that might in truth be slightly beyond him,” he told The Bolton News.

“If he continues training as he is and plays to the level he did the other night, then he'll certainly be in my thoughts to start against Aston Villa next week.

“We have to make sure he came out of the game okay, so we'll do that today and go from there.”

Holden’s absence has been felt acutely by Wanderers, who have won just three of their 12 Premier League games since he was stretchered off at Old Trafford following a reckless tackle by Manchester United defender Jonny Evans.

Holden was among the top flight’s top tacklers before his untimely exit and was widely praised for his incredible work-rate.

Coyle believes his return could be a massive fillip for the Whites.

“You miss any good player when he's taken out of your team but with Stuart, he was probably our outstanding player of last year,” he said.

“He's still way away from that standard, but Stuart covered as much ground as anyone in the whole Premier League. It's not just a case of quantity, it's quality as well.

“When you've got a player like that fit and available then, of course, he'll be a tremendous asset.

“He's slowly and surely getting back to the levels he's capable of. When he does it will be a huge boost, firstly and foremost for Stuart, because the injuries he's had since coming to the club have been really difficult.

“But he's such a great lad as well, so that character and desire makes him the player he is. So when he's back, it'll be like dipping into the transfer market at buying an unbelievably gifted player.”