Aston Villa captain John McGinn sustained an injury during our 3-1 win over BG Pathum United and there will be an anxious wait for further information.
The 31-year-old came off the bench for the second half as Unai Emery made several changes at the break, but his evening didn’t last too long as he was forced off with plenty of time left in the game.
After being fouled in a heavy challenge from his opponent, McGinn appeared to get his foot stuck in the surface, and while he was able to spring up to avoid further twisting his knee, he was clearly in pain as he clutched his knee and required treatment for several minutes.
READ MORE:
Garnacho arrives as clear shift in Villa transfer strategy continues
Indonesia All Stars 1-3 Aston Villa: What we learned from pre-season win
Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
Naturally, that led to an anxious wait to see if he could continue or not, and while there were a couple of positive signs as he walked off the pitch without any help and seemed to wait to be given the green light to go back on, Emery ultimately made the decision for everyone and signalled for him to stay off and head back to the dressing room for treatment.
That would suggest that McGinn has escaped a serious setback, but there will still be an anxious wait now as further scans and tests will no doubt be carried out to identify if he has suffered an injury of any sort.
Given his influence and importance in the side, it’s desperately hoped that he will be given the green light to continue training with the rest of the group for the rest of our pre-season tour, but the medical staff and Emery may choose to avoid risking him when we face Bayern Munich in Hong Kong on Friday.
The Villa skipper is going to be a fundamental presence in the side again this season, and so the last thing that he or the team needs is to see him miss any part of pre-season due to injury.
Meanwhile Alejandro Garnacho was forced off in the first half with a facial injury, but while that seems less severe, it was a disappointing and reckless performance from the hosts who committed some awful fouls throughout the encounter.