Aston Villa midfielder Johan Manzambi has reportedly stepped up his injury recovery and is back on the grass as he works towards a return to action.
The 20-year-old picked up a knee injury during the World Cup last month, and in turn hasn’t been able to feature for Villa through the course of our pre-season schedule.
Naturally, that has been far from ideal as for any player moving to a new club, it’s imperative that he’s able to adapt, settle in and start to enjoy his football under a new coach and in a new squad as soon as possible.
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While Villa face Brighton in our Premier League season opener this weekend, the Swiss international is highly unlikely to play any part, but as per The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, he has stepped up his recovery as he’s now back out on the grass and subsequently has moved on to the next phase of his comeback.
Given his lack of football for some time now though, not only does he need to remain careful through this last stage of his recovery, but Villa will no doubt manage his minutes when he does return and ensure that he doesn’t re-aggravate the issue while also getting the work in to move towards getting back his match fitness and sharpness.
It’s so disruptive at this stage of the summer as pre-season is critical in terms of improving physical condition, but also getting into a rhythm with his new teammates, and so hopefully with the good news delivered on Friday, he’ll be back on the pitch and making a positive impact for us sooner rather than later.
With the changes that we’ve seen to the squad in this transfer window both with incomings and outgoings, it’s critical that we get our new signings fit and ready to make a crucial impact, with midfielder Joao Gomes also suffering a setback of his own earlier this month.
It will add to the patience required to see this new-look Villa team find its way, but it’s great to hear that Manzambi is making significant progress and we’ll hopefully see him on the pitch in a Villa shirt soon.