Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana has reportedly undergone surgery on his knee and is expected to be sidelined for around nine months.
The 24-year-old sustained a ruptured ACL during Belgium’s win over the USA at the World Cup earlier this month, and based on his immediate reaction on the pitch before he was forced off, it was evident straight away that it was a serious issue.
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Further tests after the game confirmed the worst, and while the expectation was that he would be sidelined for a significant period, it has now been suggested that the Belgian international could miss most, if not all, of the upcoming campaign.
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According to L’Equipe, Onana underwent surgery on his knee in Lyon on Tuesday, and it’s reported that he will be ruled out of action for nine months.
First and foremost, it’s hoped that he is able to make a full and swift recovery, as this is a serious setback and it will require a gruelling rehabilitation to come back from, just as we’ve seen with other players in the current Villa squad.
From a Villa perspective though, it’s a major blow as we’ll likely now be without his services for all of this season as there will perhaps be a temptation to lean on the side of caution and not risk him for the sake a month, and that void will undoubtedly have to be filled given he played such an important role last season, albeit he had his injury troubles throughout.
Still, he made 38 appearances across all competitions, and his physicality, athleticism, dominant presence and influence in both phases of the game will be missed while he’s out during his recovery.
Unai Emery’s midfield is going through somewhat of a rebuild this summer with Youri Tielemans departing for Manchester United, while Joao Gomes has since arrived from Wolves.
With Onana out, it’s expected that another new face will arrive to give us competition and depth in that department, with Joao Palhinha being heavily linked with a loan switch as a temporary fix.
