"It is frustrating": Leon Goretzka must take a forced break - difficult start after moving from Bayern Munich to Aston Villa

Goretzka must continue to wait to be included in Unai Emery's squad for the first time.

On Monday, the 31-year-old midfielder said on Instagram that he would be forced to take a break. He will not be available again until after the international fixtures at the end of September and the start of October.

"Unfortunately, my body has reacted to the increased workload after the time without matches," Goretzka wrote. "It is frustrating, but I need this short break now so I can come back at full strength."

In the same post, Goretzka thanked the Europa League winners' fans for the warm welcome. He said he felt he was in the right place and was comfortable. He wants to use the next few weeks to recover fully.

That means Goretzka will miss at least four more matches. Villa travel to Bruges in the Champions League on Tuesday still looking for their first points of the season. They also have two Premier League games and one League Cup tie before the international break.

Aston Villa make a disastrous start to the new season

On 10 October, the Birmingham side return to action against Brentford FC.

After eight years at Bayern Munich, the 73-cap international joined Aston Villa on a free transfer, but the club have made a complete mess of the start to the season. After three matches, Emery's team are still without a win and without a goal.

Following two defeats at the start, they picked up their first point of the campaign against Nottingham Forest at the weekend. Villa lost four key players from their highly successful recent past in the summer transfer window in Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.