On August 10 last year, Aston Villa released a statement confirming that Emiliano Buendia had suffered a significant knee ligament injury in training. The Argentine playmaker would go on to miss the entire campaign as he underwent a gruelling rehabilitation and recovery process.
It came at a cruel time for the 27-year-old, as in the previous season he had established himself as a key figure in Unai Emery’s starting line-up, and with four of his five Premier League goals and both of his assists coming after the Basque coach took charge, we were starting to see more quality and consistency from the former Norwich City ace.
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Instead of being able to build on that though, he watched on throughout last season as we secured fourth place in the league and reached the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League, and while those were magnificent achievements especially when considering our injury troubles, there was always an element of ‘what if’ we had had our full squad available.
After almost a year of rehab, recovery, gradually stepping up his training process, rejoining his teammates in group sessions, Buendia finally returned to the pitch this past weekend in our pre-season encounter with Columbus Crew, and it was wonderful to see him back in action.
His half hour or so in the second half would have been valuable playing time as he continues to build his match fitness and sharpness, but also his confidence in covering ground, going in for 50/50 challenges, making tackles and putting stress on his body to make that decisive pass or to have an attempt on goal.
It’s hoped that he has come through unscathed and will progressively increase his minutes as our pre-season schedule goes on, but naturally, Emery was delighted to have Buendia back at his disposal, and it would have given the rest of the squad a lift to see him back out there too.
“The best news is his comeback,” Emery told the media. “Emiliano Buendía’s comeback after one year.
“We are happy with his return and we have to work now with him trying to get the best of him progressively.
“The first 30 minutes he played, really, is fantastic for us and for the team.”
There’s no doubt that Buendia has put in an incredible amount of work to get back to this position, as the Argentine ace arguably looks leaner, strong and hasn’t lost that speed of thought and ability to scan the pitch before looking to pull the strings in the final third.
Naturally, he looked a bit rusty and off the pace in terms of the speed of the game given his lack of football over the past year, but that will improve as he continues to feature, and it’s hoped that we’ll see him go from strength to strength ahead of the new campaign getting underway next month.
While Villa have plenty of pace, athleticism and energy in the final third with the likes of Leon Bailey, Jacob Ramsey, Jaden Philogene, Samuel Iling-Junior and Morgan Rogers, what we arguably have less of is the guile, flair and creative intelligence in possession to unlock a defence and create openings for others to provide balance to our play.
That’s why Buendia’s comeback is such an important boost for us, as it’s hoped that he can play a fundamental role this year in balancing our attack, adding more quality and ultimately become a decisive and influential figure in the Villa XI on a consistent basis.
Villa may well opt to delve back into the transfer market to add a similar profile this summer, and that would only make us a stronger squad. However, if we can get Buendia back to his best, have runners around him and maximise his technical ability, vision and positional awareness, it promises to add a crucial dynamic to our attacking play and make us even more difficult for opposition defences to cope with.
So good to see you back, @EM10Buendia. 🫶 pic.twitter.com/0hhuLWBURf
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 28, 2024
