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Steve Bruce has refused to rule out handing Ross McCormack ANOTHER Aston Villa lifeline after missing out on Leonardo Ulloa.

McCormack is now back on British soil after an incredibly successful loan spell Down Under with A-League side Melbourne City.

The 31-year-old rattled in 14 goals in 17 appearances in Australia, breaking numerous A-League scoring records in the process.

McCormack joined Melbourne on an injury-replacement deal for marquee signing Bruno Fornaroli and despite the club being keen to extend the deal, A-League rules won’t allow them to.

Having played for both Villa and Melbourne this season, McCormack can move to another English club this month but he wouldn’t be able to play due to FIFA’s ruling on transfers, which states: “Players may be registered with a maximum of three clubs during one season. During this period, the player is only eligible to play official matches for two clubs.”

With that in mind, McCormack could join a club in America with the MLS season not running parallel to the Championship.

However, Villa aren’t currently entertaining any offers for McCormack and Bruce plans to speak with him in a couple of weeks in a bid to resolve his future.

“McCormack looks as if he’s come to an end at Melbourne,” Bruce said. “I’ve given him a couple of weeks off. He can’t go anywhere else because he’s played for two other clubs.

“When he comes back after having a couple of weeks off I’ll have a chat with him, see where he’s up to and we’ll go from there.

“I would have liked him to have stayed in Australia and play because I think he’s benefited from playing. But he’ll come back in and we’ll see how he is.”

Relations between Bruce and McCormack have been tense ever since their infamous bust-up after the Scottish striker failed to show up for training last January.

McCormack hasn’t played a minute of Championship action in claret and blue since Bruce outed him publicly for not reporting to Bodymoor Heath due to his gates being ‘stuck’.

The manager welcomed McCormack back into the fold over the summer and took him out to Portugal on tour before handing him a few opportunities to impress in pre-season friendlies.

Despite the extended olive branch, McCormack did little to convince Bruce he was ready to spearhead Villa’s assault on the Championship.

But what about now after McCormack’s stunning scoring spree in Australia?

Bruce added: “You can never say never and I’ll never ever cut off my nose to spite my face, even though I’d like to at times. We’ll see what happens."