Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has revealed that Lucas Digne is fit to face Wolves, while Marvelous Nakamba is closing in on a comeback.
Villa travel to Molineux on Saturday in our first game following the international break, as we look to produce a positive response after disappointing back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.
READ MORE: How Villa should line up vs Wolves: Digne boost, Watkins to lead the line
It won’t be easy against a Wolves side 10 points above us in eighth-place, but with key individuals set to miss out for the hosts, it gives us a big opportunity to come away with all three points.
Gerrard confirmed good news on Digne’s availability after he featured for France earlier in the week, while Nakamba will step up his recovery and play for the U23s on Friday night to gain some much-needed match fitness and sharpness.
“Lucas Digne has come through 90 minutes for France, which is a big positive from the last time we had a squad to pick. We’re at full health,” Gerrard told the media, as per Villa’s official site. “Marvelous Nakamba will play for the reserves tonight and he’ll play somewhere between 45 and 60 minutes, which is a big positive.
“Hopefully he can be back and have a full week leading into Tottenham and maybe be available to face them. It might be a bit too soon for him now because he hasn’t had any serious game time.
“Hopefully he comes through that, recovers well and then he can be back with the group. He’s been back training fully for ten, 12 days and he’s smiling, getting closer and closer.
“The rest are all healthy, in a good place and ready to go.”
While it’s a boost to see Digne return and likely replace Ashley Young at left-back this weekend, getting Nakamba back will arguably be even more important given how crucial he was to Gerrard’s plans in the early weeks following his arrival at Villa.
Nakamba provides us with more steeliness and energy in midfield to protect the backline better, and so he’ll certainly hope to be at Gerrard’s disposal in the coming weeks and possibly even as early as Tottenham next weekend.
In the meantime, it’s a real boost to hear that we’ve got an otherwise fully-fit squad, and that will hopefully help us secure the desired result against Wolves on Saturday afternoon.
