Aston Villa looked shaky at the back in Wednesday’s 3-1 FA Cup replay defeat at home to Chelsea as the club’s recent stagnant form continues.
The Villains have won just one of their past five matches, albeit that victory consisted of a 5-0 mauling of Sheffield United on Saturday. However, Unai Emery now has two key centre-backs in Tyrone Mings and now Ezri Konsa sidelined meaning his defensive numbers are stretched as a result.
Villa face a hard clash with Manchester United on Sunday but will be hopeful of tallying a number of points in subsequent matches against Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Luton Town. Emery may welcome back a number of players during that period as the club goes full tilt on a top four finish.
Lucas Digne might be back for Sunday as he nears a return from his thigh injury. Emery recently said the left-back was “progressing very well” having missed the past seven matches with the issue picked up on Boxing Day, coincidentally against Man United.
The absence of Konsa seemed to show in Wednesday’s defeat to Chelsea. Diego Carlos and Clement Lenglet looked less than convincing, albeit Pau Torres returned from injury to make the bench with the hope that game time will come again soon.
Konsa could be out for up to a month after clashing with the post in Saturday’s win over Sheffield United and had to be taken off just before the hour mark. “He has a knee sprain and is not going to be available. I don’t know, three or four weeks more or less,” Emery said this week.
Jhon Duran might also not return before the end of the month having sustained a hamstring injury lin January, which ruled out any possibility of an exit amid tentative links with Chelsea. The manager recently confirmed he is due to be out of action for a number of weeks but no specific timeframe has yet been outlined.
Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia remain long-term absentees and it is questionable whether either make an appearance before the end of the season. Mings had to have surgery on his knee last year while Buendia’s ruptured anterior cruciate ligament will take a while to come back from.
