Aston Villa could be dealt another injury blow over the international break as Amadou Onana could reportedly be sidelined for two to three weeks.
The 23-year-old has been an important figure for Unai Emery since joining us this past summer, making 14 appearances across all competitions and contributing three goals along with his influence in midfield.
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His partnership alongside Youri Tielemans in a deeper pivot has been a vital part of our early success, and it’s hoped that he can continue to build on that and improve.
However, according to Sacha Tavolieri, Onana suffered a small muscle tear in his foot during Belgium’s clash with Italy, and he will subsequently be ruled out of action for around two or three weeks.
While we wait for an official announcement or confirmation from the club as to whether or not he will indeed be sidelined with the issue, it’s another blow for Emery given we’ve seen the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara and Ezri Konsa pick up problems over the past week.
That in turn may leave us short-handed against Crystal Palace on November 23 once the international break has concluded, but hopefully there will be positive news once the squad returns to Bodymoor Heath and we prepare for next weekend’s clash.
Nevertheless, it’s far from ideal to keep getting negative updates on players as we hope to have as close to a fully-fit squad as possible going into the festive period, and so if Onana has sustained an injury, it’s hoped that it isn’t severe enough to keep him out for an extended period of time.
With Kamara also picking up an issue last time out against Liverpool, that will potentially leave us light in midfield with Ross Barkley coming back from a knock of his own, and so time will tell how we line up against Palace as we look to get back on track and build some form after a disappointing run of results prior to the break.
