Aston Villa’s injury situation has worsened.
Victor Lindelof missed Aston Villa’s penalty shootout Carabao Cup defeat away at Brentford due to a new injury blow, manager Unai Emery has confirmed.
Despite only playing 13 minutes away at Everton on the weekend, Lindelof wasn’t available for the midweek trip to Brentford. As Emery was keen to rotate in the Carabao Cup and did so by making seven changes, Lindelof would likely have been involved - perhaps even from the start - if it wasn’t for his injury.
Signed on deadline day as a free agent several months on from his Manchester United release, Lindelof has been keeping himself fit in his own time. The experienced defender has still managed to suffer some misfortune, however, with a setback already despite his Villa career only just getting started.
Emery confirms new Villa injury blow
Ezri Konsa retained his spot at right centre-back and had a decent game at the Gtech Community Stadium, making several key blocks. It’s not ideal for Konsa to play every minute of every game, though, and Lindelof playing instead - at least for some of the game - could have been beneficial for that reason.
The option wasn’t even there for Emery, however, as Lindelof wasn’t deemed fit enough to be included in the matchday squad. As reported by The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, Emery went on to confirm during his post-match press conference that Lindelof had suffered a “small injury”.
It awaits to be seen whether the problem is minor enough for Lindelof to be involved in Villa’s next game, away at Sunderland in the Premier League on Sunday.
Good news for Tielemans
It’s not all doom and gloom for Villa, at least, as the calf injury Youri Tielemans sustained in the 0-0 draw at Everton isn’t as bad as first feared. “It is better than we expected,” Emery admitted to the media. “Maybe in one or two weeks he will be available,” he added.
Boubacar Kamara’s return on Tuesday night also comes as a major boost for Villa. The defensive midfielder, pivotal to Emery’s system as his presence gives his teammates the license to roam, featured off the bench against Brentford after missing the previous two matches with a hamstring problem.
Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley, meanwhile, are believed to be close to coming back into the fray. Onana, just like Kamara, suffered a hamstring injury before the international break. Barkley, on the other hand, has been lacking match fitness after dealing with a personal issue.
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