Youri Tielemans has missed Aston Villa's last two matches with a calf injury
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Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans
Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans(Image: Anna Gowthorpe/Shutterstock)
Belgium national team manager Rudi Garcia is concerned Aston Villa could rush Youri Tielemans’ recovery so he features in the final day clash against Manchester United this weekend.
Garcia, who named Tielemans in his Belgium squad for next month’s internationals, also claimed that his calf injury could have been avoided if Villa had managed his game time better this season.
The 28-year-old had started all 36 of Villa’s Premier League games before the trip to Bournemouth earlier this month. He also started in all 12 of their Champions League matches.
Tielemans is considered by many to be the club’s player of the season for his consistent performances throughout the campaign, which is his second at the club following his free transfer in the summer of 2023.
After missing Villa’s last two games against Bournemouth and Tottenham, he could return to action on Sunday as the club targets a fourth successive victory, which could see them return to the Champions League.
However, Garcia hopes Unai Emery doesn’t take any risks with Tielemans.
“Obviously, there’s the final match for Aston Villa this weekend, and it’s very important because the top of the table is very tight in the race for Champions League qualification,” Garcia explained.
“What matters is that Youri is fully recovered - not necessarily that he plays in the last match. He’s already played plenty this season. I think he’s the player who has played the most.
“I would even say it’s not surprising that he got injured, because to me, he played too much. Sure, Amadou Onana was injured for a while, but I think within Aston Villa’s squad, there were ways to give him some rest at times.
“I know Boubacar Kamara well, because I was the one who gave him his debut at Marseille. He was a central defender, and I turned him into a midfielder. That speaks to the kind of position changes we could consider, maybe even at right-back, with players from the national team.
“They have McGinn who can play there too… So in my opinion, they really had plenty of players to give Youri a break and avoid injury.
“Apparently, it’s not too serious, but it’s the calf. And personally, I don’t like calf injuries because they’re sneaky. I don’t know if that makes sense - they’re insidious. So I really hope Aston Villa’s medical staff have analysed it well for Youri, and that he doesn’t come back too soon and re-injure himself this weekend.
“That’s why I’m telling you that if he doesn’t play, it’s not a problem. I’d rather we take care of his recovery ourselves. At least that way, we’ll be sure of the quality of the recovery.”
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