Unai Emery provides Aaron Wan-Bissaka injury update ahead of Manchester United clash

Aston Villa received some timely positive injury news, as it seems there is a chance Aaron Wan-Bissaka could be available for the Premier League clash with Manchester United on Sunday.

Wan-Bissaka has been out with a hamstring issue since pulling up in Villa’s 1-0 win at Newcastle on 17th October, causing him to miss the last five matches. He was filling in at left-back during that match due to injuries to Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri.

Unai Emery confirmed the right-back will undergo a late fitness test to see if he is ready to return to face his former club at Old Trafford

The Villa manager said: “Aaron is close and tomorrow we’ll see if he’s training normally and feeling good”. If Wan-Bissaka manages to train on Saturday and come out unscathed, he could be in the starting lineup for the trip to Manchester.

It would be huge news for Villa if Wan-Bissaka is available, as their only other senior right-back Matty Cash will miss the game with suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Fulham at Villa Park.

If Wan-Bissaka is not fit enough to play, it will likely be Lamare Bogarde stepping in at right-back, which is not his natural position.

The versatile central midfielder has played there many times before in a pinch, but the results have been very mixed, and the prospect of him starting there at Old Trafford, which has been a house of horrors for Villa over the years, is not particularly appetising.

Villa have only won three times at Old Trafford since 1955, with Dean Smith the last manager to win there in 2021 as Kortney Hause headed in the only goal. That turned out to be Smith’s final win as Villa boss.

Emery has lost all five matches away at Man United, four in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup. The closest he has come was on Boxing Day 2023, when Villa had a 2-0 halftime lead but threw it away to lose 3-2.

In other injury news, Ruggeri is working his way back from a hamstring problem of his own, but will not feature on Sunday as he continues to train on his own.

Emery said: “Ruggeri is still working alone but he’s progressing well”. Amadou Onana remains out with a long-term knee injury, but other than that, Villa have a relatively clean bill of health heading into Sunday’s contest.