Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa picked up an injury while on duty with England, but Lee Carsley has allayed fears over the severity of the issue.
The 26-year-old was replaced after 61 minutes of England’s 2-0 win over Finland on Tuesday night, and naturally there were fears that the collision had perhaps resulted in an injury that might sideline him on his return to Villa.
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Given our lack of quality competition and depth in that position with Diego Carlos sidelined by an issue of his own prior to the international break, Unai Emery can ill-afford to lose Konsa at such a crucial time with our Champions League campaign getting underway next week too, but fortunately, it sounds as though our defensive ace hasn’t picked up a serious knock.
“Yes, I think he is [OK],” England boss Carsley is quoted as saying by BirminghamLive. “I’ve not had a chance to see him because I’ve been speaking to the press, but he looked OK when I saw him.”
It’s hoped that there is official confirmation of that in time to reaffirm that the Villa defender hasn’t suffered a setback, and furthermore, that he will be available for selection when we face Everton this weekend.
Villa will be looking to make it three wins in our first four Premier League games of the season, and having that trusted centre-half partnership of Konsa and Pau Torres at the back will be fundamental in helping us achieve that.
While it’s hoped that we’ll get Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash back from injury in the coming weeks, the setback for Konsa does highlight a concern that many had going into this year after the club failed to reshuffle things at the back to strengthen.
That puts responsibility on Carlos again to provide reliable depth, while youngsters Lamare Bogarde and Kosta Nedeljkovic will have roles to play too.
Nevertheless, based on the comments above, it’s hoped that Konsa is in good health when he returns to Bodymoor Heath, and that Emery can call upon him to start against the Toffees on Saturday evening.
If not, and perhaps with one eye on our trip to face Young Boys in the Champions League next week, hopefully Carlos is back from his own injury issue and will be ready to feature if needed in order to give us that additional experience and presence in defence ahead of the likes of Bogarde and Nedeljkovic who are still adapting and developing.
