Injury boost as key Villa ace makes further progress in comeback

Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno has shared a positive update on his recovery from his hamstring injury, as he steps up his comeback.

The 30-year-old has spent the entire summer continuing his rehabilitation work after undergoing surgery at the end of last season, and has provided consistent updates on his progress.

Sign up for the Talk Villa newsletter, a free weekly Villa round-up delivered straight to you!

Moreno made a positive impression after arriving in January, improving his defensive ability while offering a real threat with his attacking qualities down our left flank.

Having displaced Lucas Digne in the Villa XI, he made 19 appearances in the Premier League last season and provided three assists, and we’ve certainly missed his presence in the side during our pre-season schedule thus far.

Villa boss Unai Emery noted last week that he expects Moreno back at the end of August or perhaps early September, and while we hope it’s the former, the Spaniard is continuing to make progress as he’s posted his first update being back out on the grass and running at Bodymoor Heath, as seen in the image below.

Given all that we’ve seen from him thus far has been confined to the gym and the anti-gravity treadmill, this is a key point to reach for Moreno, and it’s hoped that he continues to make positive strides in the coming weeks.

While we’ll face Lazio and Valencia this week in our final two pre-season games, the new Premier League campaign gets underway on August 12 as we travel to face Newcastle Utd.

Moreno is expected to miss our first three league outings at least, as well as the Europa Conference League playoff round, and while that is a disappointing blow, it’s important that he now makes a full recovery and doesn’t suffer any late setbacks.

Emery has found solutions in his absence, as although Digne is now expected to feature prominently, Seb Revan has provided cover while Pau Torres was deployed on the left side of what was largely a back-three at the weekend against Brentford.

Ideally, we’ll get Moreno back ahead of schedule and fully fit, but Emery hopefully has the most effective game-plan ready for August 12 to ensure we make a positive start to the new season regardless of those who are missing.

🙌🏽⏳Alex Moreno making more progress…#avfc #UTV 🟣🔵 pic.twitter.com/qDebgPx2ny

— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) July 31, 2023