Aston Villa star has been confirmed to miss the matches till the end of the year, which could be a big loss for Unai Emery’s men.
Aston Villa’s narrow defeat in Villa Park yesterday does bring more bad news for the team. They have lost Pau Torres for his thigh injury, followed by Ian Maatsen who took a knock after a dangerous challenge from James McAtee in the second half. It forced Villa to continue the game with 10 players in the last 16 minutes due to the Dutchman’s inability to stay on the pitch, while Unai Emery had already used all five substitution slots.
Pau Torres’s injury is still currently being assessed whereas Maatsen’s has been confirmed, as reported by Jacob Tanswell from The Athletic in his official X account.
“Ian Maatsen expected to miss six to eight weeks with an ankle injury. MRI scans last night showed no fracture but tendon damage.”
Maatsen will be ruled out for around two months or until November. It means he would miss out some of the important games of the season. In the Premier League, the former Chelsea and Dortmund man is sidelined for eight games. They include the match Newcastle United and Manchester United on the road and a home game versus Manchester City.
Meanwhile, in the Champions League, the left back potentially is ruled out for four games. He is bound to miss the most anticipated clash in Camp Nou when Villa takes on the Catalan giant, Barcelona on November 3.
In the current squad, Villa only have one natural left back, Matteo Ruggeri. So, he could get a nod more regularly in the next few games. Aaron Wan Bissaka could be deployed as a left back as well and so could Tyrone Mings. They can be the option for the Italian’s understudy. The full back who was signed from Atletico Madrid this summer, has only made two appearances so far, as a substitute.
Meanwhile, for the Champions League squad, Maatsen’s absence could be up to 60 days, the limit based on the UEFA squad regulation in the continental competitions. Thus, Aston Villa could replace him with their new signing, Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Their new arrival from Southampton has yet to make his debut with the Clarets and Blue since joining the squad. However, he could finally do so sooner with Pau Torres and Maatsen’s unavailability.
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