Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been handed a crucial injury boost as Diego Carlos returned to action on Friday in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
Villa faced Bristol Rovers this week as players not called up for international duty were involved as we look to stay sharp over the break and continue to work on improvements.
READ MORE: Key development touted in possible transfer boost for Villa
While the defeat mattered little in the grand scheme of things, the biggest positive to come from the game was the return of Carlos, with Villa confirming that the 30-year-old played 67 minutes in his comeback.
The Brazilian centre-half has been sidelined since last August after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon, and it’s been both a gruelling and lengthy rehabilitation process for him since.
However, he will have been delighted to finally get back on the pitch, despite it not being a competitive game, as this was another important step on his way to returning to the first-team.
Carlos has been named on the bench in our last few league games, but it was vital that he got minutes under less pressure and scrutiny to rebuild his match fitness and sharpness before returning to the Villa XI, and so this was a great opportunity for him to get that, and 67 minutes is a great shift.
Time will tell if he has come through unscathed and his condition is improving, as he’ll now hope to perhaps get some playing time off the bench initially in the Premier League between now and the end of the season.
He’ll have his work cut out though, as with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa impressing in recent weeks as Villa have kept three clean sheets in our last four league outings, Emery surely won’t want to disrupt the balance and solidity that’s been found at the back until changes are necessary.
Nevertheless, for now, it’s great to see Carlos back in action after the recovery he has had to go through having sustained such a serious injury after just two competitive appearances in a Villa shirt, and he’ll hopefully have a key role to play in our run-in.
