Aston Villa ace Leon Bailey is a doubt to face Everton on Saturday due to the hamstring injury he suffered in our win over Leicester City prior to the international break.
The 27-year-old was forced off after just 16 minutes at the King Power Stadium, and he was seen clutching his hamstring whilst making his way to the sidelines.
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It had been hoped that the international break might give him the opportunity to receive treatment and recover to avoid missing any playing time, but unfortunately it sounds unlikely that he’ll feature against Everton this weekend.
“Leon Bailey is still a doubt for tomorrow,” Unai Emery told the media, as per BirminghamLive. “We are going to decide with him if he is going to be with us or not.”
Naturally, having Bailey recover in time would be a huge boost, but given the nature of the setback and the importance of avoiding aggravating the problem and subsequently running the risk of extending his time on the sidelines, it could be the smart decision to leave him out for this encounter.
Villa have a trip to Young Boys in the Champions League to consider next Tuesday evening too, and so it’s hoped that if Bailey doesn’t get the green light to make the matchday squad against the Toffees, he can make the trip with the rest of the group for our opening game in Europe.
While the Jamaican winger has had a slow start to this season, he was a fundamental figure for Emery last season, scoring 14 goals and providing 14 assists in 52 appearances across all competitions. Nevertheless, with his pace, work ethic and creativity, he has firmly established himself as a pivotal player for Villa.
The injury setback will be frustrating for him at this early stage in the campaign as it will be disruptive in his bid to rediscover his best, most decisive, form, but the fact that Bailey is even in contention to feature this Saturday is arguably a hugely positive sign in itself that suggests he isn’t facing a lengthy spell out.
Emery does have options to deal with his absence too, with Jacob Ramsey a contender to perhaps come in, or the Villa boss could go with Ross Barkley and push Youri Tielemans into a more advanced role with a reshuffle in positioning of those around him.
Time will tell what our starting line-up looks like, but it’s hoped that we see Bailey back in the squad at least and ready to return as and when he gets the nod from the medical and coaching staff.
