Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed Ollie Watkins picked up a hamstring injury in our 2-0 win over Wolves on Saturday evening.
The 28-year-old has been a fundamental figure for us so far this season, scoring 22 goals and providing 10 assists in 42 appearances across all competitions.
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He’s also been a mainstay in the starting XI and a reliable presence for Emery with his durability and fitness levels, and with so much on the line for us in the coming months, it had been hoped that he could get through the entire campaign without suffering any setbacks.
Having been replaced at half-time in our win over Wolves this weekend though, there were fears that he had sustained an issue, and while Emery confirmed that it was a hamstring concern, he did allay fears to a degree in terms of the severity of the problem.
“He was feeling something in his hamstring and I think we have to wait for tomorrow,” he told Sky Sports, as per BBC Sport. “Hopefully it’s not a big injury but it’s his hamstring. I don’t know now but tomorrow we will check in.”
According to The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, the Villa boss later added: “He told us he could play on but the doctor said not to take any risks. We will scan him tomorrow morning and hopefully it will not show a lot, but I don’t know.”
Naturally, the hope now is that the scans show that it isn’t a serious issue and that Watkins can receive treatment to hopefully be involved next week as we face Man City on Wednesday night, before hosting Brentford next Saturday.
Jhon Duran will be in line to step in and deputise if necessary, but Emery will be anxiously waiting for good news on Watkins, who is so important to both how we play as a collective in both phases of the game, but also with his decisiveness in the final third.
Villa continue to close in on Champions League qualification for next season, but there is still work to do, and so it’s hoped that we’ll have our talismanic forward available to lead the line in the coming weeks, rather than remaining behind to do rehabilitation work for his hamstring injury.