Aston Villa have reportedly received an important boost on the injury front as Amadou Onana has resumed training.
Villa face Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday in our final game ahead of the upcoming international break, and having recorded three consecutive wins across all competitions over the space of a week, it’s hoped that we can continue our current form and momentum.
Our upcoming opponents will be desperate for points in their bid to move away from the danger zone though, and so we have to be at our best to ensure we achieve the desired outcome.
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Ideally, Unai Emery would have a full-strength squad to select from in order to give him as many alternative tactical solutions as possible, but that’s not going to be the case this weekend as Tyrone Mings and Youri Tielemans remain sidelined.
It’s unclear at this stage if Jadon Sancho, Ross Barkley or Andres Garcia will be involved, but one player who is pushing to return to the fold is Onana, as per The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, who reports that the Belgian international resumed training on Friday and could be in contention to make the matchday squad on Sunday.
Given he was sidelined by a hamstring issue, it’s unlikely that Villa will risk rushing him back ahead of the break, and so the expectation is that if he is given the green light to feature, he’ll be no more than an unused substitute.
That said, it’s an important boost to have him back to give us another option in that department, as Emery has had to rely heavily on John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara to fill those roles while others have been ruled out.
It’s also worth noting that Onana was included in the Belgium squad for the international break while Tielemans was not, thus giving us another indication as to where the pair are at in their respective recoveries.
With Villa still looking to compete on three fronts this season, it’s imperative that we keep our players injury-free and available as much as possible, as it will help not only keep everyone fresh over the course of a gruelling campaign, but Emery will have different options for different opponents, and that tactical flexibility is fundamental to our success and progress.
