View: Unai Emery set to face Aston Villa dilemma as Diego Carlos injury update provided
Diego Carlos could provide Unai Emery with his biggest selection headache since becoming Aston Villa manager when he returns to first-team action following his ruptured Achilles injury.
The Brazilian centre-back has featured just twice for Villa in the Premier League after his £26million summer move from Sevilla – snapping his Achilles in his first match at Villa Park against Everton and being out of action ever since.
However, injury expert Ben Dinnery told Football Insider [Thursday 2 February] the 29-year-old is currently training individually and should be looking to get some game time towards the end of February.
This ahead-of-schedule recovery for Carlos could well leave Emery scratching his head over what his first-choice centre-back partnership should be in the West Midlands.
Both Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have been immense since the Spanish manager’s introduction to the club in October and have helped the club record five wins from their last seven Premier League games.
Three of these wins have been backed up with clean sheets against Brighton, Spurs and most recently, Southampton, and alongside Emi Martinez, the two centre-backs have been the lynchpin by which Villa have built their success.
However, when Carlos does inevitably return from the sidelines, who should Emery side with at centre-back?
Supporters will already know the Spaniard prefers to side with a 4-4-2 formation, so playing all three is extremely unlikely while replacing either Mings or Konsa seems harsh after their recent exploits.
Although England international Mings was dropped as captain by Steven Gerrard in the summer, the centre-back remains a key leader in Villa’s backline, and you feel that whenever he has been absent this season, Villa have looked far more vulnerable.
From both offensive and defensive set-pieces, he is a colossal presence with his height and power, while he has a surprisingly quick turn of pace.
He really seems to be at home alongside Konsa after the pair being Villa’s first-choice partnership for over two years now, and this chemistry off the pitch is starting to translate to performances on it.
Former Brentford defender Konsa has now racked up over 100 appearances in Claret and Blue and oozes class when at his best. His one major benefit to Emery is his ability to comfortably take on the ball in tight areas and play progressive passes no matter the position he finds himself in.
This is something Emery has instilled since his arrival, with goalkeeper Martinez, his back-four and even his midfielders being instructed to help in the process of building attacks all the way from the back.
Considering these factors, Carlos could well end up remaining on the bench for a little while longer than expected – through no fault of his own – when he returns from injury, and he will have a fight on his hands to reclaim a starting berth.
As the saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery must end Matty Cash’s exile in defence and bring him back into the side for Ashley Young.