Aston Villa have been handed another injury blow ahead of their crucial fixture with LOSC Lille this evening, with Unai Emery confirming the timescale of one emerging absence.
All eyes will be on Lille this evening, as Aston Villa battle LOSC Lille for a spot in the Europa Conference League semi-final in what will be a thriller at the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Unai Emery’s side take a narrow one-goal lead with them to France after winning 2-1 in the first leg of the quarter-final, with goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn giving the Villans a slight advantage.
It’s still all to play for in Lille, particularly when revising the impeccable home record of Paulo Fonseca’s side this season, giving Emery another monumental task away from Villa Park to tackle.
The Villans will go into the fixture high in confidence after beating Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates on Sunday however, the manager will now have to navigate around another significant injury blow to his squad.
Unai Emery confirms the timescale of Alex Moreno injury ahead of LOSC Lille clash
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Emery confirmed that Alex Moreno will be out of contention against Lille due to sustaining a calf injury.
Addressing the media, Emery said:
“Alex Moreno has a small injury in his calf and he’s going to be out.
“He’s not available for tomorrow and maybe it will be two or three weeks.”
It’s unfortunate timing for Villa with a schedule packed with crucial fixtures ahead, starting with the challenge in hand against Lille this evening.
Aston Villa will now have to cope without Alex Moreno
Fortunately, Emery has the ability to rotate at left-back due to the form of Lucas Digne however, the boss will now be solely reliant on the Frenchman to act as the Villans’ only figure on that side.
It’s terrible timing for Villa, who once again see their squad depleted through injury, in a campaign that has been plagued by key absences throughout the 2023/24 calendar.
If there’s one thing that the Villans have shown they can do, it’s adapt to absences although at this stage in the season, the manager will truly have his resources tested.
Now that Villa will have to finish fourth to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League, the room for a dip in form has minimised significantly, adding to the pressure already on the squad to remain strong for the run-in.
If the Spaniard is out of action for as long as three weeks, he will be poised to miss the majority of the run-in to the end of the campaign, in what would be a damning loss for Villa.
The post 'Not available': Emery shares Aston Villa injury blow ahead of Lille clash, he'll be 'out' for weeks appeared first on Aston Villa News.