Aston Villa have confirmed our latest injury news as Boubacar Kamara, Leander Dendoncker and Philippe Coutinho will miss our clash with Bournemouth this weekend.
Villa will be looking to secure back-to-back home wins after seeing off Crystal Palace last time out at Villa Park, with our draw at West Ham last weekend another positive result as we continue to put together a good run of form.
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However, if we hope to apply real pressure on those above us in the battle for a top-half finish in the Premier League this season, this is another game that we must come away with all three points from and it won’t be easy against a Bournemouth side scrapping for survival and arriving off the back of a win over Liverpool.
Unai Emery would have been hoping for positive news on the injury front this week to have as close to a fully-fit squad available as possible, but as per the club’s tweet below, the Spaniard won’t have that.
Coutinho, Dendoncker and Kamara all remain sidelined due to injury, and while no official update was provided on their respective conditions and recoveries, Emery will likely share more in his press conference on Friday afternoon.
Kamara is naturally the biggest absence given how influential he has been for us so far this season and so it’s hoped that he can return swiftly after the international break, while not having Dendoncker as an option again to step in for him is a disappointing setback too.
Having scored against Arsenal last month, Coutinho will be frustrated to remain out as he would have been hoping to build some momentum and battle for a bigger role in the latter stages of the campaign, but he’ll have to remain focused on his recovery and hopefully return next month.
After facing Bournemouth, Villa will next be in action against Chelsea on April 1, which is swiftly followed by a trip to Leicester City three days later and the visit of Nottingham Forest on April 8.
In turn, it’s imperative that we start getting players back from injury and avoid any further setbacks, as we’ll need the competition and depth moving forward to ensure we have enough quality and options available to Emery to get as many points as possible in what becomes a hectic period in the schedule.
A fitness update ahead of the weekend. 🟣 #AVLBOU pic.twitter.com/42onlG2P1Y
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) March 17, 2023