Aston Villa Women: Carla Ward has several unsung heroes among bare-bones squad
The way Aston Villa have adapted to their rotten injury luck this season speaks volumes of the job Carla Ward is doing in the West Midlands.
Villa have been struck by a torrid run of misfortune, with ten players either having been injured or still remaining out as the club prepares for their WSL restart against Tottenham on Saturday 14 January.
Remi Allen, Simon Magill and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah have all fallen foul to ACL injuries, while Natasha Harding is also sidelined with a long-term quad injury.
On top of these already crushing blows, goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, defenders Evie Rabjohn and Meaghan Sargeant, Republic of Ireland international Ruesha Littlejohn, as well as forwards Emily Gielnik and Freya Gregory have all been sidelined at one point or another since the summer.
The injury list that Ward has had to contend with has been so grave that the Villa boss has only been able to name two outfield players on her bench at times. The way she has therefore conducted herself and shuffled her pack accordingly has been nothing short of genius.
New Zealand shot-stopper Anna Leat has proven a safe pair of hands in Hampton’s stead and is now rivalling the Euro-2022 Lioness for the number one jersey. Rachel Corsie has meanwhile stepped into an unfamiliar holding midfielder role from centre-back to great reward and was instrumental in the tight 1-0 victory over Liverpool in November.
Before the back-to-back heavy defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal, Villa’s defence had conceded just ten goals in seven games, which marked a dramatic improvement from last season.
Within this back-four, Danielle Turner has proven herself a brilliantly flexible option for Ward to tinker with, as the natural left-back has stepped in as an emergency centre-back for large portions of the season. Playing alongside Arsenal loanee Anna Patten, the 31-year-old has been a revelation.
As Villa’s medical staff continue to nurse a number of their injury-stricken stars back to full fitness, Ward must make do with what she has got. However, if, and hopefully when, she has a full complement to select from, this Villa side will look like a different proposition altogether.
In other Aston Villa news, Kaine Kesler-Hayden can play second fiddle to Matty Cash under Unai Emery in the 2023/24 season after continuing to shine out on loan.