Aston Villa talisman Ollie Watkins was pictured in group training on Tuesday ahead of our Premier League season opener this weekend.
The 28-year-old didn’t feature during our pre-season schedule after being given an extended break following his international exploits with England earlier this summer.
READ MORE: Aston Villa season preview 2024/25: Pre-season thoughts, signings, possible strongest XI
In turn, he’s been playing catch-up since returning to Bodymoor Heath earlier this month, and unfortunately he seemingly wasn’t ready to feature against Borussia Dortmund last weekend.
Getting that playing time to build his match fitness and sharpness would have been crucial, but having missed that chance, it remains to be seen just how heavily involved he is when we travel to West Ham Utd on Saturday evening.
As seen in the images below, Watkins was a participant in group training on Tuesday, and so it seems highly likely that he will make the matchday squad at the very least this weekend, but time will tell if he’s able to feature or if Unai Emery considers it too much of a risk given his lack of football in recent weeks.
Naturally, having our top goalscorer and talismanic frontman available for selection will be a huge boost and we may well need him at some stage on Saturday to try and come away with all three points. That said, there is no need to risk him too quickly if he isn’t up to speed yet, as if he were to pick up an injury as a result, that would be a massive blow for us in the early stages of the campaign.
In turn, Emery and his staff will make the most sensible decision, but it’s reassuring and a crucial boost to see Watkins training again this week, and ultimately working hard to get himself as ready as possible for the start of the new campaign.
Should he be left on the bench at the London Stadium, Morgan Rogers will likely fill that void up front given he is capable of playing that role and did so in pre-season for us, while Cameron Archer will also be available as an alternative if needed too.
Villa have a gruelling season ahead of us again this year, and so although it’s far from ideal that Watkins will have to play himself into full fitness after missing pre-season, it’s hoped that he can find both top condition and form in the coming weeks to give us a real boost in the final third.
Always working. 💪 pic.twitter.com/MSkt8v6Gji
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 13, 2024
How can Ollie’s fitness be a problem after he played for the National team this summer? He’s only had a couple of weeks to mend. Could it be that one of the reasons that Villa tired out last year, is that they worked them too hard in training? Clough would say “don’t leave it on the training ground”. Is it true that Mc Grath would have reduced training because of the condition of his knees? It didn’t hurt him on game day. This season with the CL added on, will be very a big ask of the players.
It’s starting up again! I can’t wait. UTV