Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has reportedly suggested that Jacob Ramsey will target a return from injury after the first international break.
As per the Athletic earlier this month, the 22-year-old suffered a broken metatarsal while on international duty with England U21s, and he was expected to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks with the setback.
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That touted recovery timeline would have seen him recover in mid-September, and it appears as though Emery has now backed that up and given a similar outlook on Ramsey’s recovery.
As per BBC Sport’s Alex Howell, Emery noted in his press conference ahead of the Premier League Summer Series in the USA that there’s a chance for Ramsey to return after the first international break.
Given that takes place between September 4 and 12, that echoes the initial timeline touted, and would see Ramsey target a return to action against Crystal Palace at home on September 16 as the first possible comeback date.
Naturally, there’s no guarantee that he will be healthy and fully fit by then to feature, and so his return could come later in the month. Nevertheless, the timeline is becoming clearer, and time will tell if the Villa midfielder can stay on course or perhaps even return ahead of schedule.
What that does mean though is that Ramsey is likely to miss at least our first four Premier League games of the season, against Newcastle United, Everton, Burnley and Liverpool, as well as our Europa Conference League playoff round with the ties to be played on August 24 and 31.
Again, it remains to be seen just how accurate the touted recovery timeline proves to be as Emery himself is perhaps hoping for the best case scenario and can’t predict how the treatment will go entirely, but that’s a significant stretch to start the campaign where we’ll be without Ramsey.
Given his influence and improvement under Emery last season, that is a bitterly disappointing blow as his energy, penetration, assists and goals as well as his overall impact in the final third will be missed in this side.
It’s hoped others will step in and deliver in his absence, but the sooner that Ramsey can return the better as we’ll need his quality to try and compete on multiple fronts, and making a strong start to the new season would certainly help.