Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Jacob Ramsey, Moussa Diaby and Boubacar Kamara have been ruled out of facing Zrinjski.
Villa look to get our Europa Conference League campaign on track on Thursday night at Villa Park, as we hope to bounce back after defeat to Legia Warsaw in our opening group encounter.
READ MORE: Agent of Villa ace insists exit never considered in summer
However, having picked up fresh knocks at the weekend in our 6-1 win over Brighton, we won’t be at full strength in midweek and so changes are expected as Emery confirmed a number of key absentees.
Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference, the Villa boss revealed that Diaby, Ramsey and Kamara all miss out, while Leon Bailey could be ready to return after he limped off in our defeat to Everton in the Carabao Cup last week.
“After our last match on Saturday, today Bouba and Moussa didn’t train,” said Emery, as quoted by The Athletic. “Tomorrow they are not available. Leon Bailey I think he is ready to play tomorrow but we are going to wait because there is still a little doubt with a small injury but we were checking him today and he trained as well.
“I don’t know for weekend (against Wolves).
“With Jacob Ramsey we are trying to check him because he is unavailable for tomorrow because he has some pains after the match he played on Saturday (against Brighton) and after he felt something against Chelsea. We are checking him and see what then is the analysis of the doctor.”
While Villa will be confident that we’ve got enough quality in the squad to secure three crucial points against Zrinjski, it’s vital that those stepping in deliver a top performance to ensure that we don’t slip up, as we can ill-afford to drop more points and put ourselves in a more precarious position in Europe.
We’ve seen already this season that when we make changes and rotate, it hasn’t led to the desired outcomes. In turn, Emery will demand much more from whoever is named in his starting line-up, but it’s hoped that those missing are able to return to face Wolves on Sunday.
Kamara, Diaby and Ramsey have all been pivotal figures in the Villa XI, and while it’s undoubtedly a real blow to be without them in midweek, it will make our task at Molineux a lot harder if they are unable to recover in time for that showdown too.