Aston Villa put in a five-star performance against Sheffield United on Saturday, but one negative to come out of the game was a knee injury to Ezri Konsa.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa secured their 14th Premier League win of the season after thrashing Sheffield United 5-0.
Ollie Watkins stole the headlines after becoming the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to reach the 10+ goals and 10+ assists milestone this term.
The Villa sharpshooter wasn’t the only player who received an abundance of praise as midfielder Douglas Luiz was compared to Kevin De Bruyne for his wonderful outside-of-the-foot-pass to Watkins.
For all of the positives to come from the match, the huge negative was the knee injury to Ezri Konsa that has left Emery sweating over his immediate availability.
Ezri Konsa could be out of Aston Villa action for a significant period
Although Emery is due to speak to the media this afternoon ahead of Wednesday night’s clash against Chelsea, the Telegraph claims the 26-year-old could face more than a month on the sidelines.
This comes as a huge blow to the Villa boss, who has been unable to start Pau Torres since mid-December.
After picking up an ankle injury in the win over Brentford, the Spaniard has twice aggravated the problem and his presence is sorely missed at the heart of their defence.
Konsa’s possible unavailability leaves Emery short on defensive options ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup replay against Chelsea and Sunday’s crucial fixture against Manchester United.
The Englishman has been ever-present in defence, whether that is playing as a right-back or centre-back, he’s started in every single Premier League match.
Replacing him is, therefore, going to prove an issue, especially when looking at the impact he’s made.
Ezri Konsa will be a huge miss to Aston Villa
Konsa’s versatility is an important feature of Villa’s defensive organisation. He’s capable of playing as a right-sided defender and tucking in to form a back three while partnering the likes of Clement Lenglet and Diego Carlos at centre-back.
The former Brentford man also plays a pivotal role in building possession from the back. He’s so assured on the ball and has demonstrated his ability to drive out from defence and fire passes through the lines.
This is underscored by the fact he ranks in the top 9% against his positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues for pass completion and the top 11% for successful take-ons, as per FBref.
In assuming control of a match, as they’ve done so many times this season, Konsa has played a huge role in their dominance and watching him spend a significant period on the sidelines would be a hammer blow to Emery.
