Aston Villa defensive duo Matty Cash and Diego Carlos have been ruled out for our clash against Leicester City this weekend.
Villa travel to the King Power Stadium looking to bounce back after our disappointing defeat to Arsenal last time out, and it had been hoped that we would have as close to a fully-fit squad available as possible.
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However, after limping off after just 16 minutes last weekend, Cash is now set for three to four weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, as per the club’s official site, while Carlos will play no part against the Foxes either after picking up a small injury.
It’s added that both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara continue to make progress in their respective recoveries from injury setbacks, but neither will be ready this weekend, and Unai Emery has backed our talisman Ollie Watkins to regain his top form as he continues to play catch-up after missing our pre-season schedule.
The Villa striker continued to lead the line well for us last Saturday, but after missing two major chances which we later rued as we fell to that defeat to Arsenal, Emery is confident that he’s continuing to improve and go from strength to strength the more he plays.
“Time, because the players who were playing until the last moment in competitions with their national teams had less holidays than others,” he told the media at his pre-match press conference, as per VillaTV. “Especially for him, he was coming here with a small injury, he was not really 100 per cent when he started training with us.
“He needed one week more resting time than other players after his comeback.
“Now, after playing two matches, I think he’s going to feel better and better, and comfortable as well remembering how we want to get his best performances helping us.
“He played good, not brilliant, he played good last week and he did the job, always, we’re demanding of him.
“Of course, we want his goals as well. He had two very good chances, he didn’t score, but the most important thing is to create chances.
“Watkins is coming back progressively and he’s going to help and get his performances being very important for us, increasing his level.”
Villa have boasted a strong bench in both of our opening two Premier League games this season, and so while it’s hoped that those who get the nod to start at Leicester can get the job done, it’s a real boost to see us have so much quality in reserve if needed.
That comes with the boost of getting key players back from injury as Jacob Ramsey and Emiliano Buendia push for a starting berth in the coming weeks and months, while Mings and Kamara are expected to rejoin group training in September to ramp up their comebacks.
That in turn will hopefully give Emery plenty of quality and depth to rotate and ensure we are capable of competing for major honours this year across multiple competitions.
