Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed that his plan was to play Pau Torres for 45 minutes vs Ajax, allaying fears over the decision to replace him at half-time.
The 27-year-old was replaced at the break in our win over Nottingham Forest last month, and was subsequently on the bench for our victory vs Luton Town last weekend amid concerns that he may have sustained an injury setback.
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In turn, it was a real boost to see him return to the starting line-up against Ajax, but again, the Spaniard was replaced at half-time in Amsterdam, and so there was a worry that there might be an ongoing problem.
Fortunately, Emery cleared up the matter in his post-match press conference, as per The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, as he told reporters that his plan was to play the Spanish centre-half for 45 minutes given he only recently returned from his original injury, but also noted that it was part of a tactical change.
With a crunch clash against Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, it’s a relief to hear that Torres hasn’t sustained a fresh knock, and so it’s hoped that he’ll be available to start at the weekend given how influential he has been for us so far this season.
Diego Carlos returned from an injury blow of his own to make the bench against Ajax, and particularly with Ezri Konsa picking up a red card and being suspended for the second leg, it’s an important boost to go with the news on Torres.
Meanwhile, the Express and Star’s Matt Maher added that John McGinn picked up an issue in the pre-game warm-up, and although he wasn’t risked in the starting line-up, it was good to see him feature in the second half to suggest that he won’t be sidelined at the weekend with the problem.
Having decided to rotate and rest key players, Emery will now hope that it pays off on Sunday before we host Ajax in the second leg of our Europa Conference League tie next week, as we look to qualify for the Champions League and keep our hopes of winning silverware alive.
