Unai Emery will be heading into this international break fairly pleased by what his Aston Villa side has produced.
Everyone knows that it hasn’t been pretty, but for Aston Villa to only lose one match in all competitions is pretty impressive so far.
In truth, the international break has come at the right time for Villa because the injury list was starting to pile up and become an issue for the manager.
Ezri Konsa was one of the latest players to suffer a problem when he went off in the first half of the goalless draw against Manchester United on Sunday.
The likes of Jacob Ramsey, Amadou Onana and John McGinn were already missing for that fixture, alongside long-term absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings.
Then you have someone like Leon Bailey who has been carrying an injury for a while and Matty Cash only just returned to the pitch from the treatment room.
Aston Villa fans are hoping, from Pau Torres on duty with Spain to Ollie Watkins hoping to lead the line for England, that they all return injury-free.
In the meantime, these few weeks of intentional action, which fans usually hate because it means there is no club football, has come at the right time for the Midlands side.
Ezri Konsa ‘optimistic’ about return within two weeks
The positive is that Konsa‘s hamstring issue doesn’t seem to be too serious and he will be back sooner rather than later, according to The Telegraph.
It has been reported that Konsa is optimistic about returning to action within one or two week, which should cover the international break.
Emery’s side travel to Craven Cottage to face free-scoring Fulham when club football resumes again, before another home Champions League adventure and then Bournemouth visit B6 again.
Either way, it seems as though Konsa should be back for those matches, which is a huge plus because many players are returning.
Ezri Konsa an important player for Aston Villa
The 26-year-old is one of those players you don’t want to get injured because of how important he is to the team.
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One of Villa’s biggest issues is their defence, the drab 0-0 draw against Manchester United on Sunday was the first Premier League clean sheet of the campaign.
Yes, Villa’s 1-0 win over Bayern Munich proved what the team can do from a defensive aspect, but if the backline can perform to a reasonable standard this season, then there is every chance that Champions League football returns.
