Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has provided a fitness update on Ollie Watkins after he missed out against Legia Warszawa.
The 27-year-old has been an ever-present so far this season across all competitions, scoring 12 goals and providing seven assists in 20 appearances.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Legia Warszawa: Decisive duo impress in important win
However, his absence from the squad against Legia in our Europa Conference League meeting on Thursday night sparked immediate concern, albeit there was a hint of the likelihood that he was merely being rested.
As per the video below, Emery confirmed in his pre-match interview that Watkins was partly not involved due to being rested, but that he had also felt a ‘small pain’ in training on Wednesday, and so it was deemed unworthy of risking him in this game.
While the Villa boss seemingly downplayed any concern and suggested that it was more precautionary, it was hoped that he would offer more after the encounter to give an indication as to whether Watkins might be sidelined moving forward.
“He was not available today,” he is quoted as saying by The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell in his post-match press conference. “He felt something yesterday. I don’t think it’s important but we decided not to take the risk. Secondly, we wanted minutes for Jhon Duran.”
“Hopefully, yes,” he added when asked if Watkins would be fit to face Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.
Emery’s comments above would indicate that Watkins should be available at the weekend, as it does sound as though the decision was more so made to avoid taking any unnecessary risks having picked up a knock.
Time will tell though if he is able to recover in time for Sunday, and we’ll hopefully hear more from Emery in his press conference on Friday to determine if Watkins is training ahead of the game, which could be a key factor in whether or not he’ll make the trip.
As he notes above though, it was an important run out for Duran to get minutes and build his match fitness and sharpness, as there will be times this season where we’ll need him to step in for Watkins and provide us with an important presence up top.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery comments on squad rotation as he makes five changes from their win at Tottenham on the weekend…@JeffBrazier | #UECL pic.twitter.com/BzXQxowoWp
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2023
