Aston Villa have been dealt an injury blow as Kortney Hause has been sidelined for between four and six weeks after undergoing minor knee surgery.
The 26-year-old posted an image on social media this week post-procedure as he insisted that he would be back stronger and had a point to prove on his return.
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With no official confirmation of what the exact issue was and what the surgery fixed, there was a lack of certainty over the situation, but reports have now offered some clarity.
As per the Express and Star, it has been reported that Hause underwent minor knee surgery, and that he is now expected to be ruled out of action for between four and six weeks.
That in turn means that he will miss the pre-season schedule, and that will be a blow for him as he would undoubtedly have wanted to prove a point to Steven Gerrard in the build-up to the new Premier League campaign as he battles for a more prominent role this season.
As for the Villa boss, he will be thin on options in that department in the coming weeks with Ezri Konsa also currently sidelined until the end of August at least after undergoing knee surgery of his own, and so it seems likely that summer signing Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings and Calum Chambers will feature heavily in the pre-season fixtures in the heart of the Villa defence.
Although he has played a limited role over the past two seasons, Hause is still a key member of the squad given the competition and depth that he provides, and so it’s hoped that he can return as soon as possible after making a full recovery, as with Villa hoping to compete on multiple fronts in the upcoming season, he will certainly be needed by Gerrard.