When Aston Villa star John McGinn could return as injury update emerges ahead of Ipswich Town

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Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn is set for a spell on the sidelines after the win over Wolves, with the timeframe of his absence now emerging.

McGinn was substituted for winger Leon Bailey at half-time last weekend, as Aston Villa came from behind in the second half to beat Wolves.

Unai Emery’s midfield machine starts almost every game and is rarely absent through injury, only missing three Premier League games in 2023/24.

McGinn’s availability is on a similar level to striker Ollie Watkins – who Darren Bent described as a ‘nightmare’ to play behind for Jhon Duran as he never gets injured.

Unfortunately, Villa will be without the 29-year-old for a while as Emery shares an update on when he could return.

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When John McGinn could return from injury for Aston Villa

It’s been a week since McGinn sustained a hamstring injury in the win against Wolves, and the Aston Villa boss expects him to be out for a further two to three weeks.

Speaking in Friday’s pre-match press conference, as per Birmingham Live, Emery said: “He’s been out for one week and I think he will now be out for two or three weeks more. Our expectation is that he will be out for three or four weeks altogether.

“When someone is injured it is not good for the players and for us,” he added. “But analysing his performances before he was injured he needed to improve and increase his performance levels. We were working with him on his focus.”

McGinn will now miss Premier League clashes against Ipswich and Manchester United, plus their Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

Emery will hope the Scotsman is fit to return for their trip to Fulham on October 19th following the international break.

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Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran

The absence of McGinn will mean Leon Bailey returns to the starting XI after playing in the win over Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday.

Emery’s team selection isn’t simple elsewhere, though, hinting at the possibility of Jhon Duran and Watkins starting together against Ipswich.

Duran’s blistering form is becoming impossible to ignore and his penalty in the Carabao Cup win was his fifth goal in just 251 minutes of action.

Emery, like many, perhaps feels such form should be rewarded with starts in the Premier League, which is why he could play alongside Watkins this weekend.

Duran did partner Watkins from the bench against Wolves and that decision helped inspire a comeback however, the Spanish tactician must now decide whether he should go with this formula from the off.

It would unfortunately mean that Jacob Ramsey would drop out, with Morgan Rogers shifting to the left but it’s an experiment that could pay dividends.