Aston Villa have confirmed that Emiliano Buendia has resumed personalised work on the training ground pitch in a crucial development in his recovery.
The 27-year-old has been sidelined since August after suffering a serious knee injury on the eve of the current campaign, and he has been hard at work on his rehabilitation and recovery since.
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Villa boss Unai Emery put the recovery timeline for the Argentine playmaker at anything between six and eight months when speaking to the media in the immediate aftermath of the setback, and so while that was only a rough indication of how long it might take Buendia to make a comeback, we’re in the middle of that now.
As seen in the video shared by the club below, Buendia is now back training doing individual sessions at Bodymoor Heath on the grass, and after months of gradual gym work and continuing to repair his knee through training and conditioning, it was no surprise to see the Villa ace with a big smile on his face as he made his way outside.
It’s great to see him looking positive after what has undoubtedly been a gruelling and rough seven months, and so it’s now hoped that he can go through the final stages of his recovery without any setbacks and can get to his previous levels again.
There is of course still some way to go before he’s ready to feature again, as not only does he have to reintegrate into the squad and join in group training for a consistent period to prove his fitness and ability to fit into Emery’s demands, but he’ll likely need a run-out or two for the U21s to build his match fitness and sharpness.
That could take months still depending on how the medical staff assess his condition, and so although our last Premier League game is played on May 19 and we’ll hope to make the Europa Conference League final on the 29th, time will tell if we see Buendia again this season or not.
The expectation is that we won’t risk him even if he is closing in on a comeback as it will be difficult to see how he can have a significant impact after such a lengthy period on the sidelines. However, his return will no doubt give everyone a huge lift, and it will be important for him to get minutes where possible to get back to performing at the top level again heading into next season.
Things we love to see. 😍@EM10Buendia's recovery continues with individual work on the grass. 💪 pic.twitter.com/02v916vjkd
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 15, 2024