Aston Villa boss Unai Emery could potentially be handed a double injury boost this weekend as we prepare to face Crystal Palace.
Villa enter a crucial period with five games in 14 days across three competitions, as we’ll hopefully set the tone and standard for what’s to come for the rest of the season.
READ MORE: Key test awaits Villa as Emery looks for perfect balance
Naturally, Emery will be eager to have as close to a fully-fit squad as possible at his disposal for a challenging schedule, and it appears as though we could get a double boost ahead of Saturday’s visit of Palace.
As seen in the first tweet below, Emiliano Buendia provided insight on Alex Moreno’s comeback, as he captioned his image of the Spaniard training with: ‘Ok there, kid. You are already close’.
Moreno has been pictured back in group training this past week and coupled with the timeline provided over the summer after he underwent hamstring injury at the end of last season, he appears to be on course to make his return to the bench this weekend. Failing that, it’s hoped we see him feature against Legia Warszawa next Thursday evening as he builds up his match fitness.
While Lucas Digne has done a great job of filling in and will certainly be in contention to keep his place initially, Moreno undoubtedly established himself as our first-choice at left-back last year, and so the expectation is that he’ll be gradually integrated back in before being restored to the starting XI.
‘You are already close’.
Emi Buendia 🤝🏽 Alex Moreno#avfc #UTV 🟣🔵 pic.twitter.com/DXhf4PzpED
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) September 11, 2023
Meanwhile, there was more good news as Diego Carlos posted an update from Bodymoor Heath on Monday, as he’s back at the training ground and working in the gym.
The 30-year-old was forced off after 19 minutes at Liverpool prior to the international break, with reports suggesting since that he sustained a hamstring issue.
Having been on holiday over the past few days and seemingly moving well based on his social media activity, the fact that he’s started the week back in the gym before the rest of the squad return from international duty in the coming days, would suggest that he’ll hopefully be in contention come Saturday.
Villa seemingly found a good balance at the back with Carlos partnering Pau Torres in the middle and Ezri Konsa shifted across to the right side, but we’ll certainly still have alternative options if the Brazilian centre-half isn’t quite ready for this weekend.
Nevertheless, that’s two important boosts for Villa as the defensive pair look to be pushing to be involved on Saturday, and it’s hoped that Jacob Ramsey isn’t too far behind now either having been scheduled to return to training following the international break after he sustained a foot injury over the summer.
Diegooo 🇧🇷🟣🔵
Diego Carlos back to work at the training ground. Hopefully gets the green light to feature this weekend 🤞🏽#avfc #UTV pic.twitter.com/sMj1DE4X7Z
— Talk Villa (@thetalkvilla) September 11, 2023
