The latest Aston Villa injury news ahead of the Premier League fixture against Sunderland - with updates on Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans.
Aston Villa return to top-flight action on Sunday when they travel to the Stadium of Light to take on newly-promoted Sunderland – but their search for a first Premier League win (and goal) of the season will be hampered by the absence of up to five first-team players.
Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans are the biggest names who could miss out this weekend, while the unexpected withdrawal of defender Victor Lindelöf from the squad for the midweek EFL Cup defeat to Brentford was a further blow for manager Unai Emery.
There was, at least, some good news with Boubacar Kamara returning to the bench and playing the final 15 minutes of the match following a hamstring injury – but there are still several fitness problems plaguing the Villa squad, and we’ve got all of the latest updates on their stricken players’ conditions below along with their expected return dates when available.
Will Amadou Onana or Youri Tielemans be fit to face Sunderland?
Belgian midfielder Onana picked up a hamstring injury in training prior to the recent 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace and hasn’t been available since, but according to Unai Emery he is “close to coming back” – but still a major doubt for the match against Sunderland.
He is believed to have suffered a very similar injury to that picked up by Kamara a week earlier, and as such Onana may be more likely to return next week assuming that his recovery roughly mirrors his team-mate’s. He will be assessed ahead of the Sunday’s game.
Onana’s compatriot Tielemans, meanwhile, sustained a calf injury during the 0-0 draw with Everton last weekend, but the good news is that the issue “is better than we expected,” according to Emery, who added that he would be available again “in one or two weeks.”
That timeline rules the midfielder out of the match against Sunderland but gives him some chance of being back in action to face Fulham on 28 September.
Victor Lindelöf becomes Aston Villa’s latest injury worry
Centre-half Lindelöf, who arrived at Aston Villa this summer on a free transfer, was a surprise absentee for the match against Brentford, with Emery telling reporters that the Swede had a “small injury” that rendered him unavailable for selection.
There is no further information available as yet as to the nature of the injury, but it doesn’t sound likely to be too severe – Emery went on to say that “maybe in a few days he will be available again,” suggesting that the issue is relatively minor. It is unclear whether he will be available to play against Sunderland.
Elsewhere, midfielder Ross Barkley continues to be a doubt as he works his way back to full match fitness after missing time due to an unspecified personal issue. The former Everton man hasn’t been involved with the squad since the pre-season friendly defeat to Hansa Rostock.
The final player to be a doubt for the weekend is defender Andrés García, who has missed the entire season so far with an undisclosed injury problem. Emery has told the media that he is “close” to a return, but no specific timeline is available for either the Spaniard or Barkley. Neither have been ruled out for the weekend as yet. Opponents Sunderland, meanwhile, may be without as many as seven first-team players through injury.
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