Aston Villa ace Leon Bailey has posted an update on social media which suggests that he could feature at Brentford on Sunday.
The 26-year-old has been in fine form so far this season, scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in 22 appearances across all competitions.
READ MORE: Villa ace provides update as he continues hard work in injury recovery
There has been a significant improvement from him in his play in the final third as he is consistently more decisive, and that in turn has made him a pivotal figure for Unai Emery.
However, after being replaced at half-time against Arsenal last weekend and subsequently missing the trip to Zrinjski in midweek, Emery noted in his pre-match press conference on Friday that the Jamaican international was a doubt for this game.
“Tielemans and Leon Bailey are both doubts,” he said, as per VillaTV.
While Villa do have quality depth and alternative options to fill that void if necessary, Bailey’s influence in recent months would make it a blow if he was to miss out again.
Further, with Douglas Luiz also ruled out for this encounter due to suspension and with Youri Tielemans potentially sitting out too, it makes what is already a difficult assignment away at Brentford even tougher.
In turn, it’s hoped that there is positive news ahead of kick-off which confirms that Bailey is available and has been included in the matchday squad, as the fact that he posted the image below would suggest that he resumed training on Saturday, and has put himself in contention to feature.
Naturally though, there is also the possibility that he ultimately isn’t deemed fit enough to be involved despite returning to training, or it’s considered too much of a risk and he would benefit from additional recovery time.
Even if it’s a role off the bench in the latter stages though, the injection of pace, directness and skill that he can provide out wide to stretch defences and get in behind will add a vital dynamic to our attacking play, and it could prove to be decisive in getting a positive result this weekend.
