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Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins could be set for a spell on the sidelines.
Unai Emery has confirmed Ollie Watkins sustained an injury during Wednesday night’s 3-0 victory over Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League.
Villa saw off Brugge - this time against ten men - for the second time in the space of eight days to seal a 6-1 aggregate win, more than enough to progress to the quarter-finals. As a reward, the Villans will take on 12-time French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain over two legs at the beginning of April.
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Emery will be hoping Watkins will be fit and available to play in those fixtures, as well as the upcoming games against Preston North End and Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup and Premier League. The England international striker only managed 45 minutes against Brugge as he went down for treatment at the end of the first half after appearing to land awkwardly on his ankle. He then didn’t re-emerge for the second half.
The initial prognosis is positive with Emery hopeful it’s nothing serious but Villa won’t know for sure until Watkins has had tests.
“Ollie Watkins, he told us to change him because he was not feeling good,” Emery admitted during the post-match press conference.
“I don’t know exactly what his injury is, I think it is small. But we used in that moment the opportunity to play with Marcus Rashford as a striker and really he played the second half as a striker, performing well.”
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On a more positive and assured note, Boubacar Kamara’s half-time substitution was not due to an injury. Instead, Emery was keen to tweak his tactics while not taking any risks with an important player he’s only just welcomed back.
Explaining the decision, Emery said: “Kamara is coming back after his injury and he was playing minutes, today he played 45. It was both (reasons for the sub), one I was protecting him and secondly tactically I think we needed to change something, 50-50.”
Emery excited to face PSG
Seven years on from his Parc des Princes departure, Emery will return to Paris for the first time as Villa take on PSG in the Champions League last eight. It’s a fixture that’s eluded the Spanish head coach and he’s thrilled by the prospect of visiting his old home – hopefully in victorious fashion.
“To play in the quarter-final is fantastic,” Emery said. “We are excited and motivated. To play against PSG will be very difficult. They showed their capacity against Liverpool, the best team in Europe until yesterday. To play against PSG is special because I didn’t go back there since leaving. It will be fantastic.”
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When asked if he’s already done any preparations, Emery added: “No, not yet. We were focusing on Brugge and respected them. Now, we are going to rest and recover our energy. We are going to prepare to play against Preston and then Brighton, then take information about PSG.
“I know their potential, their huge potential. They are going to be very motivated for the Champions League because they have already beaten Liverpool. They competed in those two matches fantastic.
“We will analyse and identify our power against them and weaknesses. We will prepare two matches. For our club, it is very important to be in the Champions League and quarter-final.”