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Aston Villa sensation Sil Swinkels ruled out for 'long time' with ACL injury
Aston Villa teenager Sil Swinkels has been dealt a crushing injury blow, with the 19-year-old suffering a torn ACL at Bodymoor Heath.
Swinkels suffered the injury while playing for the club’s Under-21s in a match against Southampton’s Under-21s on Friday (17 March), where he was forced off the pitch after just 22 minutes.
The youngster now looks set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines in what will be a major miss for Aston Villa’s under-21s, who are fifth in the Premier League 2 Division 2.
“Gutted to have torn my ACL and that I will be out for such a long time,” Swinkels posted on Instagram.
“It is going to be a long road to recovery full of ups and downs but I’ll be back stronger!”
Swinkels is highly thought of at Aston Villa, with his ACL tear certainly going to be felt among all of those in and around the club.
Already showing their support for the youngster on social media have been many of his teammates, including Tommi O’Reilly, Josh Feeney and Kerr Smith.
Swinkels has made eight appearances for the side this season, with his displays earning him a call up to the senior team last month, when he made the bench for the Premier League match against Manchester City.
New Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has clearly been impressed by the youngster, who certainly has a bright future ahead of him despite the recent injury blow.
With Premier League safety seemingly secured this season, Swinkels may well have been handed a senior debut between now and the end of the campaign, but such dreams will have to be put on hold for now.
In other Aston Villa news, one Premier League official stat shows that Emery is currently outperforming Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.