Aston Villa have confirmed that midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has been ruled out of action for between three and four months after undergoing knee surgery.
The 27-year-old had been an ever-present under Steven Gerrard since he took charge at Villa, making 14 appearances so far this season.
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In a big blow for the Villa boss though, it remains to be seen if Nakamba is able to add to that tally in the latter stages of the campaign as the club have confirmed that he’s undergone knee surgery and is expected back in between three and four months.
“He’s had successful surgery,” Gerrard told the media on Friday. “The surgeon is really happy with his operation and how it’s gone and now he’ll start his recovery process and recovery plan.
“He’s going to be missing for somewhere in the region of 12 weeks if it is a fantastic rehab or it could be up to 16 weeks.
“It will be somewhere in the middle of 12-16 weeks.”
First and foremost, it’s hoped that Nakamba now makes a full and speedy recovery as and when he begins his rehabilitation work, and time will tell if we see him again before the end of the season.
For Villa and Gerrard though, a decision will be needed the closer we get to the January transfer window as to whether we’ve got enough in the squad to cope moving forward or if we decide to bring in reinforcements to help cover the loss of Nakamba.
With a few games to come before then, there is no doubt that Morgan Sanson will hope to step in and take on a bigger role, while Carney Chukwuemeka could also be in line to be more involved in the coming weeks as he tries to build on an impressive outing off the bench against Norwich City.