Unai Emery has now offered an injury update on Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey after the narrow win over Southampton.
Aston Villa clinched a 1-0 win victory over Southampton thanks to Jhon Duran’s well-taken finish in the first half.
It wasn’t the most convincing performance from the Villans, but the result was all that mattered, as they moved up to fifth place.
Despite the win, there were some negatives during the game. Unai Emery was angry at Ollie Watkins contribution when he came on.
Meanwhile, Villa fans directed their frustration towards Jaden Philogene once more, failing to impress from the bench after replacing Leon Bailey.
Unai Emery confirms Leon Bailey hamstring injury vs Southampton
Bailey made his 14th appearance of the Premier League season in the win over Southampton.
The Jamaican occupied his usual right-wing position and the £30m man did show some flashes of brilliance with his close control and driving runs.
But, in truth, it was another frustrating outing from the 27-year-old, who was substituted with an injury on the hour mark.
In his post-match interview, Emery has now confirmed that Bailey has injured his hamstring. The Spaniard doesn’t expect him to be out for long but he will be unavailable for Villa’s Champions League clash against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
“I think he will be out, hopefully not a lot of weeks but Tuesday I don’t think he will be available. We have to try and use our other players and give them chances. It’s a hamstring issue,” Emery said via journalist John Townley.
Philogene must now step up for Aston Villa
It’s become clear during this campaign that Emery failed to replace Moussa Diaby, who was so influential in attack last term.
Due to being hamstrung by PSR, the Villans were forced into signing a cost-effective replacement for the Frenchman, as they lured Philogene back from Hull City.
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Capturing the 22-year-old for just £13 million was seen as good business but as the below table shows, he’s not been up to the level required.
| Tournament | Apps | Mins | Goals | Assists | KeyP | Drb | Yel | Red | SpG | PS% | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League Cup | 1 | 90 | – | – | 2 | 3 | – | – | 2 | 91.3 | 6.60 |
| Champions League | 1(2) | 119 | – | – | 0.3 | 0.3 | – | – | 0.3 | 76.2 | 6.52 |
| Premier League | 2(9) | 326 | – | – | 0.1 | 0.3 | 2 | 1 | 0.6 | 77.4 | 5.89 |
| Total / Average | 15 | 535 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2 | 1 | 0.6 | 78.1 | 6.07 |
Given Villa’s lack of options in wide areas, the onus is perhaps now on Philogene to start in the absence of Bailey and he must impress, otherwise, Emery may not look to sign a winger in January.
