Unai Emery has issued an injury update on three Aston Villa absentees which will surely please fans.
Villa’s dreams of winning the Europa Conference League came to an end on Thursday night. Olympiacos continued their momentum from the first leg to overcome the Villians 2-0 on the night and 6-2 in the overall tie.
The result confounded a terrible recent few weeks for Emery’s side who have now gone four games without a win.
However, a big reason for this dip in form is injuries. Villa had multiple players out injured for the Europa Conference League tie which did not help.
While Emi Martinez did manage to return for the game, he could not overturn the damage done at Villa Park.
After the match, Emery was able to issue a positive update on Nicolo Zaniolo, Alex Moreno and Youri Tielemans ahead of their return to the Premier League on Monday night.
Aston Villa trio only have ‘small’ injuries
Villa have had some terrible injuries throughout the campaign. Both Emiliano Buendia and Tyrone Mings have been out for the season, with Boubacar Kamara and Jacob Ramsey adding to this list later in the season.
Over recent weeks, Zaniolo, Moreno and Tielemans were also added to the sidelines as Villa’s options became more stretched.
Thankfully, Emery believes that the trio are on their way to recovery. After the Olympiacos defeat, he said: “Hopefully Zaniolo is close. Alex Moreno has a small injury and will need a few days. Youri Tielemans is a small injury too.”
No doubt this news will be a great relief to Villa fans who have finally received some good news after their series of defeats.
Aston Villa need as many first-team players back as possible
Now the club are out of the Europa Conference League, only one target remains, Champions League football.
Villa are in pole position to secure this, with only one result needing to go their way.
However, the club cannot take any risks, if any first-teamer is close to fitness, Emery must ensure that he is back in the squad as soon as possible.
With Liverpool up next followed by an in-form Crystal Palace side, Villa’s task could not be tougher in their final two games.
The squad knows what they need to do and the return of just one of the previously mentioned trio would do Villa wonders. The Champions League is in their hands, they just need to ensure they take it.
