View: Ben Chrisene injury will frustrate Aston Villa hierarchy amid productive loan spell at Kilmarnock
Aston Villa academy product Ben Chrisene has been dealt a huge setback after suffering a serious knee injury while on loan with Scottish club Kilmarnock.
The 19-year-old has been enjoying a productive loan spell north of the border but picked up the injury late in the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Celtic and has subsequently missed the club’s last two games against Rangers and Dumbarton.
Killie manager Derek McInnes has revealed that the Villa starlet will be out for a “significant period” with a serious medial ligament injury when speaking to the press prior to the club’s Scottish Premiership clash against Ross County.
As reported by the Express and Star (Thursday 26 January), he said: “He has a serious injury unfortunately, he has torn his medial ligament and is back at Villa this week and he will be back here next week.
“But he will be out for a significant period, unfortunately. He was doing so well for us.”
The knee injury is a sucker-punch for both Chrisene and Aston Villa after the drastic improvement shown during his short loan spell to date.
The left-back had racked up 11 starts and two appearances from the bench in the SPL and had become a mainstay in McInnes’ side after ex-Villa manager Steven Gerrard brokered a deal with the Scottish club in the summer.
Chrisene has long been considered a rising star of the Bodymoor Heath academy after joining Aston Villa from Exeter City back in August 2020.
The defender’s talents have also been on full display for his country in recent times, after being capped at Under-15, U16 and U17 levels for England.
After impressing in his early stages at Villa Park, he was awarded his first-team debut against Liverpool in the FA Cup third round in January 2021 before penning his first professional contract in the West Midlands.
With Chrisene contracted with Kilmarnock till the end of the season, it is still unclear if he will be able to recover in time to feature again in the latter stages of the season.
Villa’s hierarchy may well consider extending his loan with the Scottish outfit next season or permit the defender to take the next step up and secure a loan with a Championship club.
In other Aston Villa news, a 17-year-old academy prospect has signed his first professional contract with the club.