Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore has reportedly returned to the UK for treatment after suffering a muscle tear while on international duty with Burkina Faso.
The 27-year-old returned from a loan spell away from the club in January and went on to make eight Premier League appearances under Unai Emery, while scoring two goals.
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With his current contract set to expire in June 2024 though, coupled with the feeling that he emerged as a short-term solution for the Villa boss last season as he needed an option on the right wing before delving into the transfer market this summer, question marks have been raised over Traore’s future at the club.
The last thing he would have wanted is to be recovering from an injury heading into an important pre-season schedule, but as per the Express and Star, he has suffered a muscle tear while on international duty, and has now returned to the UK for treatment.
That in turn now raises doubts over his ability to be fully fit and ready for our pre-season fixtures, which start against Walsall on July 15, although the squad will return for training in the coming weeks.
It’s a disappointing blow for him and firstly it’s hoped that the injury isn’t too serious, but time will tell how that impacts his chances of making a final impression on Emery this summer to convince him to keep him as part of his squad.
Villa are expected to be busy in the transfer window to strengthen the group, raise the level and add competition and depth ahead of a big year for us, and it remains to be seen if Traore has a role to play in that still or if Emery is looking to move him on. Even if it’s the latter, a speedy recovery is hoped for so the Villa winger can find an alternative solution if necessary.