Unai Emery inherited the situation, and Aston Villa has struggled to overcome the misfortune since. However, the injury crisis that jeopardized their Champions League aspirations is finally subsiding. This turnaround will leave the respected Spaniard with important decisions ahead.
It began with Diego Carlos, followed by Emiliano Buendia, then Tyrone Mings, and most recently, Boubacar Kamara. Aston Villa has had at least one first-team player in the treatment room for more than two years, but hopefully, that situation is coming to an end.
Aston Villa has faced terrible luck with injuries, starting with Carlos, who made his home debut in a win against Everton under Steven Gerrard but ruptured his Achilles tendon in August 2022. The Brazilian had just joined from Sevilla for £26m that summer and didn’t play again until May when he appeared in a loss to Wolves. By then, Villa—now managed by Emery—was close to qualifying for Europe.
As they prepared for a season that included a Europa Conference League campaign, Emery and Monchi aimed to strengthen their squad by signing players like Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby. Their arrival proved essential, as Villa lost both Buendia and Mings to season-ending injuries before the competitive matches even started. In response, Villa quickly moved to loan Nicolo Zaniolo and Clement Lenglet.
Despite their injury troubles, Villa qualified for the Champions League. Jacob Ramsey also missed significant time, while players like Lucas Digne, Matty Cash, and even Emi Martinez dealt with injuries of varying severity. The most serious blow occurred in February when Kamara suffered an ACL tear, mirroring Mings’ situation.
In the 2023/24 season, Villa experienced 39 injuries that resulted in a total of 1,236 days lost, leading to an astonishing 149 games missed. While squad depth is crucial today, examining the injuries from last season in relation to the club’s league position highlights the significant achievement it was for Villa, under Emery, to secure a top-four finish.
Injuries are an inherent aspect of the game, but significant focus and effort go into minimizing the risks players face. While muscle-related injuries can be reduced, clubs cannot prevent impact injuries or shield players from the unfortunate ligament injuries that often sideline them for months rather than weeks.
Villa is still dealing with injuries. Amadou Onana and Jacob Ramsey have been unavailable recently, along with John McGinn and Ezri Konsa, who would typically be representing their countries during this break. Leon Bailey has stayed behind due to injury issues, and Matty Cash has just returned to action. However, in all these instances, the severity of their injuries is not a major concern.
It’s possible that within the next two weeks—one of which is still this break—all those players could recover from their injuries and be available to Emery again. Additionally, since Mings and Kamara have been back in competitive action since the weekend and are training with the first team, they should also be close to rejoining the matchday squad.
In the upcoming set of fixtures before the November break, Villa will face seven matches—on Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday, and Saturday—across three competitions. Emery will need as many players as possible available for this stretch. With no long-term injury absentees at the moment—and hopefully none in the near future—Emery may soon have some selection decisions to make.
Emery currently has 23 senior players, but ideally, we would need to narrow that down to 20 when everyone is fit. With any luck, this ideal situation may soon become a reality for the Spaniard. The players include: Martinez, Gauci, Cash, Bogarde, Nedeljkovic, Konsa, Torres, Carlos, Mings, Maatsen, Digne, Kamara, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Ramsey, Barkley, Rogers, Philogene, Bailey, Buendia, Watkins, and Duran.
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