Gardner joined the Sky Blues on a one-month deal on November 24, with Villa unable to call him back until after 28 days at the earliest. That period passed on Wednesday and Alex McLeish has wasted little time activating the recall to help cope with an ever-growing injury list, with Gardner now poised to go straight into Villa's squad for the home clash with to Arsenal. The 19-year-old was due to remain at Coventry until January 3, meaning he will now play no part in the fixtures against Bristol City, Brighton and West Ham over the festive period. Gardner - younger brother of Sunderland midfielder Craig - earned positive reviews during his brief stint at the Ricoh Arena, starting all four npower Championship matches during his time there and scoring on what was his Football League debut in a 2-1 defeat at Brighton. However, his impact was not enough to prevent four successive defeats as Coventry slipped to the foot of the second tier table.
