Aston Villa boss Unai Emery hopes to have both Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey back at the end of November following their injury setbacks.
Moreno, 30, has yet to feature this season having missed the start of the campaign due to the hamstring injury he sustained in the penultimate game of last season, before suffering a setback last month.
READ MORE: How Villa could line up vs Luton: Three key changes, duo ruled out
As for Ramsey, 22, he did return briefly after picking up a foot injury during the summer while on England U21s duty, and although he looked good in that short spell back earlier this month, he suffered a recurrence of that same issue and was sidelined once again.
The pair showed in the second half of last season just how influential and important that they can be for Unai Emery in his preferred system and style of play, with their defensive work ethic matched with technical ability, attacking quality and goal involvement threat.
While Lucas Digne and the likes of Leon Bailey, Nicolo Zaniolo and John McGinn have all done a great job of filling those roles so far this season, there is still room to be better with our key duo back in the side, as they also give us a great balance when involved too.
Emery provided an update on their status ahead of our encounter with Luton on Sunday, and although they remain out this weekend and will miss games against Nottingham Forest, AZ Alkmaar and Fulham, the hope for Moreno is that he could be back in contention against Tottenham on November 26, while Ramsey will hopefully not be far behind him.
“Jacob Ramsey and Alex Moreno are still out,” he said in his pre-match press conference on Friday, as per VillaTV.
On Moreno, he noted: “He’s going well, really well, but still to be in the squad it will be after the international break.”
On Ramsey, Emery added: “He’s going well, but he will need two or three weeks more to be training with the group. After they are in, they are closer to playing in matches.”
It’s always been a vital part of Emery’s preparations that players are integrated into group training for a while before they are deemed ready to return to match action, and so although it’s a blow to still be without Ramsey and Moreno for our upcoming fixtures, they’ll hopefully be ready to make their respective comebacks before the end of November.
Heading into a hectic festive period, that will give us more competition and depth, and having made such a positive start without them, that will hopefully help us get to the next level in our performances on a consistent basis.
