Aston Villa suffer double injury blow ahead of Premier League opener
Just as Villa fans were starting to build some optimism ahead of the new season, an unfortunate injury update brought them back down to earth with a bump.
The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell reported on Friday that João Gomes and Brian Madjo will both miss the start of the Premier League season with injuries sustained in Villa’s 2-1 defeat to PSG in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this week.
Madjo is not expected to be back until September at the earliest, with the timeline for Gomes believed to be two to four weeks.
The injuries to Gomes and Madjo will be frustrating for the pair on a personal level.
Gomes never missed a game with injury during his time at Wolves and needs to play as much as possible to get comfortable in Emery’s system, while Madjo has only just been cleared to play in competitive matches following a legal battle over his eligibility.
Madjo scored Villa’s only goal against PSG on Wednesday night and may have pushed to start the season opener against Brighton next weekend.
These fitness problems add to a frustratingly long list of Villa absentees as the league campaign is about to begin.
Amadou Onana will miss most of this season with the ACL tear he suffered at the World Cup, and Emiliano Martínez, Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins have still not rejoined the group after being given an extended break by manager Unai Emery following international duty.
Alejandro Garnacho has not been able to feature much in preseason due to a facial injury suffered against BG Pathum United, while £59.5m signing Johan Manzambi has still not trained with his new club due to a knee injury picked up with Switzerland.
Add to that the various transfer issues, both incoming and outgoing, that Villa are still trying to resolve, and the squad feels very incomplete right now.
Matteo Ruggeri is set to be announced as a Villa player soon, but the club are still chasing a new right back, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka reportedly the latest target.
Talks with Bayern Munich over a move for João Palhinha have stalled, as has Leon Bailey’s move to Hull City. Villa seem keen on bringing in another forward player once Bailey’s future is resolved, having already allowed Evann Guessand to join Crystal Palace on loan.
At this point, Emery has lost the luxury of easing Martínez, Konsa and Watkins back in. Given the other problem areas Villa have with their squad, the trio realistically need to be ready to play against Brighton.
If they are available, Villa’s lineup could look something like: Martínez in goal, a back four of Cash, Konsa, Torres and Maatsen, with either Victor Lindelöf, Lamare Bogarde or Ross Barkley partnering Boubacar Kamara in central midfield.
It will likely be John McGinn, Emiliano Buendía and preseason sensation George Hemmings behind Watkins. Garnacho could get the nod, but it feels unlikely he is up to speed at this stage.
If Martínez, Konsa and Watkins are not involved, it will likely mean Marco Bizot, Lindelöf and Tammy Abraham filling in.
After Villa’s sputtering start to last season, when they failed to win in the first five games and did not score a goal in the first four, the signs are ominous that they could be similarly slow out the blocks this year.
