stress fracture of the foot. He made his comeback on 12 December in the return fixture, coming on after 40 minutes for Teemu Tainio and making way in the 83rd for Andy Reid in a 3–1 win at White Hart Lane. He was loaned to Portsmouth in the January 2006 transfer window and made 13 appearances as they avoided relegation. On 31 August 2006, he was loaned for a year to Fulham as part of the deal that brought Steed Malbranque to Spurs. He made his debut on 9 September as a 34th-minute replacement for injury victim Jimmy Bullard in a 2–1 victory at Newcastle United, where he assisted a goal for Brian McBride. On 17 January 2007, he scored the winner in a 4–3 victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup fourth round. Aston Villa On 30 January 2008 Routledge joined Aston Villa on an 18-month contract in a deal worth £1.5 million. He made his first-team debut on 5 April as an 86th-minute substitute for Stiliyan Petrov in a 4–0 win against Bolton. On 10 July 2008, Routledge was the subject of a scathing verbal attack from Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. Jordan was giving an interview about now ex-Palace midfielder John Bostock, during which he used Routledge as an example of why he believed the youth player should not leave Palace to join Tottenham. He said Routledge "grabbed the money" of a Tottenham move before learning his trade at Palace, and had not become a first-teamer at any of his subsequent clubs. Cardiff City In November 2008 after making just one league appearance for Aston Villa so far during the season, Routledge was allowed to join Championship club Cardiff City on a two-month loan deal after the club suffered a double injury blow when both Joe Ledley and Peter Whittingham were ruled out for one and three months respectively. He made his debut for the club on 22 November in a 2–1 defeat to Plymouth Argyle during which he supplied the through pass for Michael Chopra to score Cardiff's only goal of the match. He scored his first goal for the club in just his second match when he found the net against Reading during a 2–2 draw on 25 November. He soon found the net for a second time, this time scoring Cardiff's second goal in the 2–2 draw at Burnley. In the lead up