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Ollie Watkins | AFP via Getty Images
Aston Villa are back in Premier League action this weekend with an away trip to AFC Bournemouth
Aston Villa remain 3rd in the Premier League table after 24 fixtures. They are inside the top four along with Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. Unai Emery’s side delved into the January transfer window to sign Alysson and Tammy Abraham.
The Midlands outfit lost 1-0 at home against Brentford last time out. They will be eager to bounce back this weekend away at AFC Bournemouth. In the meantime, here is a look at the early injury news ahead of their upcoming match...
Bournemouth injury news ahead of Aston Villa clash
Bournemouth have a fair few players out injured at the moment. Justin Kluivert, Marcus Tavernier, Ben Gannon-Doak, Tyler Adams, David Brooks, Will Dennis, Julio Soler and Matai Akinmboni are sidelined. They are having to make do without them all at this moment in time under Andoni Iraola.
Kluivert, who operates as a winger, is in the treatment room with a knee injury. He isn’t expected back until later this season. Iraola has recently said: “He will have surgery Thursday, and depending [on] what they decide to do, [that will determine the RTP timeline]. It will be months - it can be more or less, depending on how they approach the surgery. But yes, definitely very bad news.”
As for Gannon-Doak, the ex-Liverpool man has been out of action since November with a thigh issue. His boss said after he suffered the blow: “Ben has a hamstring injury, it's a bad one, and he will be out for some time. Today, we had a consult with a surgeon to see if it’s something that has to go through surgery, or we could go more conservative. Ben will be out for some months, which is really bad news.”
Aston Villa injury latest ahead of Bournemouth
Aston Villa have also got a few selection worries to deal with. Midfielder Boubakar Kamara isn’t expected to play again in this campaign which is a real blow. His absence gives other players in his position like Lamare Bogarde the chance to show what they can do.
Youri Tielemans and John McGinn are also unable to play both for around eight weeks each which isn’t ideal. Elsewhere, defender Andres Garcia has suffered a hamstring injury and won’t be around until later this month. Emery has said: “Andres Garcia is out for three weeks. He has a hamstring injury, a small injury.”
Aston Villa will need to make checks on Ollie Watkins and new boy Allyson ahead of their match against Bournemouth. Watkins has a problem with his thigh and missed out against Brentford. Allyson is still getting up to speed following his winter switch from Gremio.
Speaking ahead of their game against the Bees last week, Emery shared this update on Watkins’ condition: “Watkins, we will see tomorrow. Today he had a scan, and it’s not a clear injury... He was tired yesterday, and the scan is not giving us bad information.”
Out: Kluivert, Tavernier, Gannon-Doak, Adams, Brooks, Dennis, Soler, Akinmboni, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Garcia
Doubts: Watkins, Allyson
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