Aston Villa suffered a double injury blow during our 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday evening, as both Johan Manzambi and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were forced off with knocks in the second half.
Manzambi was decisive once again as his first-half header secured all three points for Villa on Tyneside, with the 21-year-old continuing to emerge as a fundamental piece in this new-look team.
Meanwhile, Wan-Bissaka has proven to be a key addition to the squad having filled in at right-back earlier in the season, while he has been deployed at left-back in our last two games due to injuries elsewhere.
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However, both players were replaced in the second half after picking up issues, but based on Unai Emery’s comments after the game, the Villa boss allayed fears over Manzambi’s calf knock, while it seemed fairly evident from Wan-Bissaka requiring help to come off the pitch that his injury will be the more serious of the two.
“I think it’s hamstring for (Wan-Bissaka). He played fantastic. Ian Maatsen will come back to join the group this week,” Emery told reporters in his post-match press conference, as per The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell.
“Not clear (on Manzambi). He was tired, he felt something but first check we did is that it’s not something big.”
As noted above, there was positive news too in that Maatsen will return to group training this coming week after he sustained an ankle injury in our defeat to Nottingham Forest last month.
The 24-year-old was in good form prior to that setback, and so it’s hoped that he’s able to recover soon, albeit it’s unclear if our Champions League encounter with Viking in midweek will be too soon for him.
Emery may also opt to avoid risking Manzambi for that game given the strength in depth that we have in the squad now, and so time will tell what our starting line-up looks like for that outing.
Nevertheless, off the back of another positive result, let’s hope that regardless of personnel, Villa can maintain this improved form and put together a winning streak across all competitions, as we now appear to be finding out feet and gaining both confidence and momentum.