Aston Villa fly out to the USA this week for the next leg of our pre-season preparations, and there will be an anxious wait to see who boards the flight across the pond.
Having registered consecutive 3-0 wins against Walsall and Spartak Trnava respectively to make a confident start to our summer schedule, things will undoubtedly now start to ramp up as we put in the hard yards in training and play three games in the space of six days during our trip Stateside.
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That in turn will give Unai Emery ample opportunity to rotate, share minutes and ensure his entire squad is building their fitness levels and regaining their match sharpness, and while the focus will be on our new recruits to see how they’re integrating, the return of key injured players will also be high on the agenda.
Villa released new training footage on Tuesday night as the squad were put through their paces for the final time before we fly out, and Emiliano Buendia was front and centre of most of the clips that were shared in the compilation, as seen in the video below.
Last session before Stateside. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/wGiEKcdVxt
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 23, 2024
The 27-year-old missed the entire campaign last season after suffering a serious knee injury in training on the eve of the opening weekend, and given the quality that he possesses and having established himself as an influential figure for Emery the previous year, it was a bitterly disappointing blow to lose him.
As expected, the rehabilitation and recovery process has been gruelling and lengthy, but as the Argentine playmaker continues to participate in group training, it’s hoped that he isn’t far off from making his return to the pitch.
Buendia didn’t feature in our opening two pre-season friendlies, and naturally that raised concern that he either suffered a setback or was deemed not yet ready to feature after such a long time out.
Crucially, the Villa medical staff, in conjunction with Emery and his coaching staff, will make the most sensible decision with regards to Buendia’s health and fitness, and he’ll only receive the green light to return when they are fully convinced he’s ready.
The same goes for both Jacob Ramsey and Tyrone Mings, as even if they are able to make the trip to the USA and stay close to the squad as they edge closer to a return from their own respective injury setbacks, it’s huge for morale and confidence for them and the group as a whole as we hopefully continue to move closer to having a fully-fit squad.
Given the consistency with which Buendia has been on the grass and training with his teammates though, it looks as though he is perhaps on the verge of a comeback now, and it would be such a huge boost to see him start getting minutes on the pitch during our tour and to begin the process of rebuilding confidence both in his knee and his form.
He’ll undoubtedly have the backing of all concerned to have an epic comeback season this year, and so seeing him on that plane to the US ahead of our first game against Columbus Crew on Sunday morning will be the perfect boost to continue our momentum this summer as Emery plots our future success this season and beyond.
