Unai Emery has provided an injury update on Jacob Ramsey, and it’s positive news for the Aston Villa midfielder ahead of our meeting with Stevenage in the FA Cup on Sunday evening.
The 21-year-old bagged a goal and two assists in Emery’s first two games in charge, but he has now missed the last three Premier League outings with a hamstring injury.
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Ramsey suffered the setback over the World Cup break, and particularly in our draw with Wolves on Wednesday night, his absence was certainly felt as we lacked energy and penetration from midfield.
Fortunately though, there was positive news on his condition ahead of our FA Cup third-round tie against Stevenage on Sunday, as Emery expects him to be involved and to get important minutes.
“We can add maybe, I think, Ramsey which is good after one month without him,” he told the media, as reported by the Express and Star. “He is going to be important. It is good to have him playing some minutes and then to be ready for the match against Leeds.
“There will be changes – but I want to win. I’m going to use players thinking how can we play and control the match, with good positioning. I will try to mix experienced players with the qualities, the skills, how we can play like I want to create and build this team.”
Villa host Leeds next Friday night, and so it will be important for Ramsey to get a decent run-out in this next game to put himself in contention to get back into the starting XI.
As mentioned above, he adds key elements to our midfield when involved and adds a balance to our play, and with Emery himself noting in his comments above that Ramsey is important for him, he’ll be delighted to have him back at his disposal this weekend.
Time will tell just how many minutes he’ll manage – and whether that’s in the XI or off the bench – but with changes expected to the Villa starting line-up as Emery rotates, we hope that he gets the balance right and we advance to the next round with minimal fuss.