Aston Villa’s Premier League title ambitions have taken a significant hit after Belgian-Congolese midfielder Youri Tielemans was ruled out for up to 10 weeks due to an ankle injury sustained during Sunday’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
The 28-year-old was forced off in the 74th minute after a collision with Newcastle’s Lewis Miley, compounding Villa’s already injury-plagued midfield.
Midfield crisis deepens
Tielemans joins Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn on the sidelines, leaving Villa with a depleted central midfield.
McGinn is expected to miss around two months with a knee injury, while Kamara faces a longer-term absence and is unlikely to play again this season.
“We know about Kamara, McGinn and Tielemans. Kamara is a long time, I think he’s not going to play this season. McGinn, more or less, is 6-8 weeks out, and Tielemans is 8-10 weeks out,” Villa manager Unai Emery said on Wednesday.
“We need to see how we can manage central midfielders in the matches we are going to play.”
Relief on the horizon
Emery, however, hinted at reinforcements, confirming that Douglas Luiz is close to returning to Villa Park. The 27-year-old Brazilian midfielder, who made over 200 appearances for Villa before joining Juventus in 2024, spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest and is set to rejoin for the remainder of the campaign.
“Amadou Onana will be coming back, and Barkley will be back in a few days. He has been training individually, but he’s so close to joining us. I think Luiz is close to happening,” Emery added.
Despite the injury setbacks, Villa remain in contention for the Premier League title, sitting third and just four points behind leaders Arsenal.
The club now turns its focus to Thursday’s Europa League group stage clash against RB Salzburg.
