Leon Goretzka is yet to make his Aston Villa debut
Leon Goretzka is yet to make his Aston Villa debut(Image: Marcel Bonte/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Unai Emery has confirmed that Leon Goretzka won’t play against Brentford on Saturday but could make his Aston Villa debut next week.
The German midfielder joined Villa on a free transfer at the end of August but missed pre-season after leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season.
Goretzka then suffered a knee injury ahead of Villa’s Champions League trip to Club Brugge last month, ruling him out for a few weeks.
He returned to group training last week but is still being managed by the club’s medical team, meaning he won’t make his first appearance in claret and blue this weekend.
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Asked about team news, Emery said: “Onana is out for a long time but is progressing well. Maatsen is also still out, and Cisse will start to train next week. Goretzka and Madjo are training with the group from last week, and we are recovering some players.”
Asked if Goretzka is available for selection, Emery confirmed: “Not tomorrow. He is training with us on Monday and Thursday. I don’t know if he will be available on Wednesday. Hopefully, he can be ready in a few days to get this consistency of training and to be included in the squad.
“He is important, Goretzka. He has experience at the high level. He joined us to help us with his experience and with his quality. He is a player who can give us a lot of things. Firstly, it is about how he is being fit.
“He has done one step forward in the last 10 days, so hopefully he will join us consistently for the next few days and weeks. We have young players, but I think they can have leadership in the dressing room too.
“Manzambi is young but he has personality. This is the next step forward that we must do. We can’t forget as well, Emi Buendia.”
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