Aston Villa youngster Tim Iroegbunam has posted an update after undergoing a procedure this week, which he confirmed went as planned.
It’s unclear at this stage as to what issue the 19-year-old was addressing, but it comes off the back of a productive season on loan at QPR, where he made 34 appearances over the course of the campaign.
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That’s exactly what Iroegbunam needed at this stage of his career in terms of gaining experience and developing his game at a high level with consistent playing time, and so it’s hoped that he now can build on that moving forward as he attempts to break into the Villa first-team squad.
While it’s a blow to see him have to undergo an operation at all, it’s a positive that he’s been able to have it so soon after the campaign finished, and he’ll now be able to focus on his recovery in the coming weeks and months to put himself in a position to be ready to try and impress Unai Emery in pre-season.
There will be important decisions needed this summer from the Villa boss in relation to the top young talents at the club, as to whether he feels any of them are ready to join the senior group or if they will be sent out on loan again.
Emery will undoubtedly have plans to bring in reinforcements of his own this summer too to bolster the squad, and so there will be a fine balancing act to use what he already has and improve us where needed, while trying to ensure we’re able to compete on multiple fronts.
Qualifying for Europe could have a big impact on that process as it will obviously mean more games, but as far as Iroegbunam is concerned, he’ll hope that he has impressed the Villa coaching staff during his loan stint in the Championship, and that he’ll be ready to begin pre-season training on time and stake his claim under the watchful eye of the Villa boss when he gets a chance to take a closer look at him.
There’s no denying his talent and potential and there are big hopes he will shine in a Villa shirt moving forward, but Iroegbunam will have a big challenge ahead to prove he can offer competition and depth to the likes of Boubacar Kamara and Douglas Luiz in our midfield, and to push his way up the pecking order if there are new arrivals in that department this summer too.
https://twitter.com/tim_iro/status/1657300526961131520
