Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara is reportedly set to miss two to three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in our defeat to Brentford.
The 25-year-old had to be replaced after just 16 minutes in our loss in west London on Saturday, as he was shown holding his right hamstring before making his way down the tunnel.
READ MORE: Five key talking points as Villa suffer frustrating defeat to Brentford
Given the influence he has in our deeper midfield pivot in both phases of the game, it had been hoped that he wouldn’t be facing a spell out, but as per The Athletic, Kamara is expected to miss around two to three weeks as he recovers, although it is relatively good news given the scans suggest it’s a minor issue.
That in turn will rule him out of facing Crystal Palace at Villa Park on Sunday, but the hope is that he’ll be available for selection when we head to Everton on September 13 after the international break.
The expectation is that Unai Emery will pair Amadou Onana with Youri Tielemans in front of the defence this weekend, with Ezri Konsa returning from suspension to be restored in our backline and give us a strong spine to the side.
Nevertheless, we’ll certainly miss Kamara as he’s crucial in giving us defensive protection in front of the back-four, while he has the composure and technical ability to help us play out from the back and gives Emery alternative tactical solutions too.
That said, Onana continues to grow into a key role for us, and so if he can provide us with steeliness and physicality in midfield, Tielemans will hopefully have the freedom to dictate tempo and possession to help us improve our performance level and present more of an attacking threat and a balanced display.
Villa are also waiting for Ross Barkley to return from an injury that he sustained during pre-season, but with the midfielder spotted in training with the group last week, it’s hoped that he’s now on the verge of being given the green light to feature, albeit with his lack of football, he’ll need time to get back up to match speed.
John McGinn and Lamare Bogarde are other options to feature in our pivot if Emery wants a different look, as he’ll perhaps be strategising a way to get more attacking quality into the side this Sunday, and that might naturally result in dropping McGinn deeper and keeping the Villa skipper in the starting XI to help get us out of our rut to start the new campaign.
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