Aston Villa are reportedly set to face Bristol Rovers in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Friday, and Diego Carlos is being tipped to feature.
The 30-year-old has been sidelined since August after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in just his second competitive appearance for the club, in what was a hugely disappointing and disheartening blow for all concerned.
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After a gruelling and lengthy rehabilitation process, it’s been great to see Carlos make the bench in our recent Premier League games, but the expectation has always remained that he was unlikely to feature for the senior side before getting valuable minutes either in a friendly or at youth level first to build his match fitness back up.
According to BirminghamLive, that opportunity will now present itself during the international break, as Villa are set to face Bristol Rovers on Friday, and it’s suggested that Carlos will feature, as he takes the next important step in his comeback.
Naturally, the encounter will give others who have been on the fringes a chance to get minutes as well to try to impress Unai Emery, as will some of our youngsters who will continue to push to be more involved with the first-team.
However, all eyes will be on Carlos and how he looks for however long he is on the pitch, as while it’s initially just about building his fitness and sharpness, he’ll want to show that he’s returned the same player and is ready to compete for a starting berth in Emery’s preferred Villa XI.
While he’s come through a really difficult period already, the Brazilian defender will hopefully come through unscathed this week as that is ultimately the most important thing for now as we certainly don’t want to see him suffer any late setbacks so deep into his recovery.
Nevertheless, it’s also important that he shakes off the dust quickly and shows that he has put the injury firmly behind him, and if he does, he’ll undoubtedly be a valuable asset for Emery given his physical and aggressive style of defending combined with his composure and technical quality to build out from the back make him a perfect option in defence for the Spanish tactician.
