Aston Villa have been dealt a blow after learning that one of their top stars is an injury doubt for Sunday afternoon's game vs Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Aston Villa injury news
The Midlands outfit currently have Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia and Bertrand Traore out on the sidelines with their own respective problems as it stands, but they aren’t the only ones who will be absent for today's encounter.
Boubacar Kamara is suspended for this one after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season so he won’t be available for selection for the fixture at the Vitality Stadium, and due to fitness, there’s half a possibility that Unai Emery will be without another of his first-team squad members.
During Thursday’s Europa League 2-1 victory over Legia Warsaw, Ollie Watkins was missing from the team sheet after feeling some pain in training, so it definitely makes sense that the striker wasn’t risked in case his problem was to get worse.
However, England’s international has been the club’s overall best-performing player so far this campaign with a match rating of 7.32 (WhoScored – Aston Villa statistics), meaning that the boss will be hoping to have his talisman back at his disposal as soon as possible.
Watkins now a doubt vs Bournemouth
Speaking during his pre-match press conference on Friday, Emery confirmed that Watkins is an injury doubt for today's game vs Bournemouth and will be assessed.
As quoted by Aston Villa's official website, he said: “He’s going to be a doubt for Sunday. We are adding other players, like Jhon Duran, Zaniolo and Jacob Ramsey, who is getting more minutes.
"He’s not completely unavailable for Sunday. We are going to wait for tomorrow and see if we can take a risk with him or not. We will see how he feels about facing the demands in 90 minutes we are going to face on Sunday.”
Emery will miss "unstoppable" Watkins
In the Premier League this season, Watkins has posted 14 contributions, seven goals and the same number of assists, in 13 appearances (Transfermarkt – Watkins statistics), so should he be ruled out of the game today, it would be a huge blow for Aston Villa who know the positive impact that he is capable of making.
The Torquay-born talent has recorded 39 shots so far over the course of the campaign which is more than any of his fellow teammates (FBRef – Aston Villa statistics), showing how much more prolific he can be in the final third compared to his peers.
With his versatility to also operate in six different positions over the pitch, including everywhere across the frontline and two roles in the midfield, Watkins is an “unstoppable” centre-forward, according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, so the sooner that he is able to stage his comeback on the grass, the better for Emery.
