One of the crushing things about this season has been the ACL injuries suffered by three Aston Villa players.
It started with Emiliano Buendia before the new Premier League campaign could start, then that disaster opening match against Newcastle United saw Tyrone Mings’ season end and, most recently, it has been Boubacar Kamara suffering that crushing blow.
Emiliano Martinez is close friends with his namesake Emiliano Buendia and he admitted that, since his injury, he has ‘put a lot of respect on him’, as he told Stadium Astro.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper shared that the duo’s families ‘share a box’ at Villa Park and how he was ‘going to be a player’ based on his pre-season form.
As Unai Emery has found out this season, due to the team’s strong performances, a lot of teams are starting to sit back and defend in low blocks.
On occasions, Aston Villa have found it difficult to break this down and, as was proven during the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United in December when the team could have gone top with a win, points have been dropped.
But as Emiliano Martinez alluded to, this is where Emiliano Buendia was meant to come into the picture because his qualities would have been used to counter this.
Emiliano Martinez and Buendia
“I found him really committed to improve himself at Villa and show himself that he can play at this level,” said Martinez.
“He had a good first year and then we lost him to an ACL injury early on in the season when he was on fire in pre-season. He was going to be a player. He was going to give us an extra boost in the low block.
“We lost him for the whole season, but since that day, I have put a lot of respect on him. The way he is coming in every day in training. Knowing inside that he is sad.
“He wants to be out with the team. He comes to every game. We share the same box in the stadium. Him and his wife, are two lovely human beings. I am just praying for him to recover quickly.”
Emiliano Buendia back in training
The big positive news for Buendia is he is back in training, so there is every chance he can return to competitive action before the season is out.
Of course, the season is due to end in May, but if the team can reach the Europa Conference League final, then there is every chance that the £38 million star makes that squad and earns some minutes on the pitch.
As we have seen with Pau Torres and Jacob Ramsey, who have suffered a reoccurrence of their injuries, there is no need to rush here.
But at least Buendia is back, kicking a ball, and training on the grass because it won’t be long before he is with the main squad again.
