Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Leander Dendoncker will return to training on Monday after another lengthy absence from the squad.
The 28-year-old missed our entire pre-season schedule after the birth of his child, but given the length of his absence, it’s unclear if that was the only reason he was unavailable.
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Naturally there will be suggestions of an injury he might have suffered over that period, but the Belgian international has also now missed our first three competitive games of the campaign.
While he’ll miss the trip to Burnley on Sunday as well, Emery has revealed that he expects Dendoncker to be back in training with the rest of the group on Monday, and time will tell how long it takes him to get back up to speed to be involved off the bench.
“I have had 10 months with him and I am always trying to find [how he can] be regular every day, every month, training, playing and getting his best performance, for some different circumstances he didn’t do it,” Emery told the media, as quoted by BirminghamLive.
“Now, hopefully on Monday he will start to train again with the group, hopefully he is going to keep consistent for a long time because I think he can help us.”
Dendoncker made 26 appearances for Villa last season, and while he made a positive contribution for the most part when involved, he did regularly miss games and so the unreliability factor has become a growing problem.
Based on Emery’s comments above though, he’ll hopefully be back in contention sooner rather than later as he looks to get his match fitness and sharpness back, but it’s not entirely reassuring over his long-term future.
For the Villa boss to openly admit that Dendoncker has failed to be a reliable presence in the squad for the last 10 months is not a good sign, and although he can certainly help us this season given we could play around 60 games if we advance as far as we want to in the cup competitions, time will tell just how important the Belgian ace will be.
Competition and depth will be vital this year in every position though, and the commanding midfielder will be a key option behind the likes of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara in the race for a prominent role this season.
Speculation earlier in the summer had paired him with an exit, but barring any late change of mind through an offer being submitted, it does feel as though Dendoncker will have a role to play for us in the coming months.