amadou-onana
Aston Villa begin their preseason with a trip to Walsall FC, a League Two (fourth division in the FA pyramid) club, on Tuesday night. The Villans enter this friendly with a very depleted midfield, as Youri Tielemans has now left for Manchester United, Amadou Onana suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament tear in the World Cup round of 16 and Boubacar Kamara is coming off a season that ended very early due to a serious knee injury.
Also, AVFC have not signed anybody at all this summer transfer window, unless you count Modou Keba Cisse, who actually joined a year ago, on a deal worth €5million (£4.2m).
youri tielemans
The 20-year-old defender then immediately returned to Austrian club LASK for a season long loan. However, he might be in the plans for this season, as he possesses the ability to play as a defensive midfielder, and Villa are of course lacking in that department. So Unai Emery really needs to get his club going this transfer window.
So far, the lack of new signings has them poised to take a step back this season. In addition to the midfield injuries, striker Tammy Abraham is recovering from shoulder surgery. So let’s get you up to speed on it all.
amadou onana
Amadou Onana
Onana tore his ACL during Belgium’s blowout of the United States in the World Cup round of 16. He is set to miss most of the upcoming season.
As the official statement confirmed on July 8:
“Unfortunately, the medical examinations have confirmed that Amadou has suffered a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). We immediately consulted with Amadou and with AVFC to agree on the best approach to his recovery. Over the coming days, we will jointly determine the next steps in his medical treatment and rehab.”
boubacar kamara
Boubacar Kamara
Kamara, who was ruled out for last season back on Jan 28, is in limited training and undergoing testing. He’s hopeful to feature at some point soon this preseason. Kamara is rehabbing from knee surgery, and he took part in an indoor session this week, which marked his first activity with the squad since last term. His recovery is apparently going quite well, and he should be able to feature in an upcoming friendly later this month, or early next month.
With Tielemans now gone to United, Kamara, it was announced, will take his shirt number.
tammy abraham
Tammy Abraham
Having successfully completed surgery (he posted ‘Op done!’ on social media back on June 3) for a nagging shoulder problem, he’s working towards returning to full training. He is on a similar timeline as Kamara, and in a somewhat similar situation/outlook, just with a different injury.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor ofThe Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.