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Aston Villa face fresh Jacob Ramsey blow after injury update, Unai Emery desperately needs him back
Aston Villa face a fresh new blow on fan favourite Jacob Ramsey with the midfielder set to face another few weeks out of action, which spells damaging news for Unai Emery.
Ramsey proved a standout performer during England Under-21’s European Championship triumph to Wednesday, playing in four games, registering one goal and an assist.
However, the Villa Park maestro hobbled off in the 1-0 quarter-final victory over Portugal with an ankle injury after a nasty tackle which left him on crutches.
And according to Injury Expert Dr. Rajpal Brar, Ramsey is expected to require wearing a protective boot or cast which could see him potentially miss a few more weeks of action after there was an expectation that he may return after the international break this month.
It’s been said by Brar that once he’s out of his protective boot, he will still face a period to undergo weight-bearing exercises to regain his strength and conditioning ahead of a long-awaited return to action.
There have certainly been a number of factors contributing to Emery’s success at Villa Park, none more so than his tremendous tactical flexibility and the adaptation of his key performers.
However, that wasn’t on show on Sunday as the Villans suffered another heavy defeat at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield, a game which highlighted their need to have Ramsey backfiring as Emery’s men were laboured and unimaginative in and out of possession.
Villa, who have been scoring for fun since losing 5-1 to Newcastle in their opening game of the season, were far too open at the back as they struggled to deal with Liverpool’s forwards and that was down to their lacklustre pressing which has proven a key theme of their resurgence under Spaniard.
Ramsey had proven an almighty part of that because of his tenacious energy and aggression when attempting to win the ball back, evidenced by his 0.7 interceptions, 2.0 tackles, 0.5 possessions won per game, and winning 51% of his ground duels last season [SofaScore].
While Aston Villa have been largely impressive in the few games leading up to the Liverpool defeat, with new signing Moussa Diaby wreaking havoc in attack, the Villans have sorely missed Ramsey, especially Ollie Watkins with the England Under-21 international’s unselfish work off the ball and runs into the box that creates space for Watkins to thrive within the penalty area.
Watkins is yet to score in the Premier League this season, and that’s arguably down to Ramsey’s absence and his performances and development last season highlight his incredible influence on Emery’s new and improved system at Villa Park.
The 22-year-old was rightly awarded the 2022/23 Premier League Academy Graduate of the Year award (22 May), following in the footsteps of the likes of Bukayo Saka, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marcus Rashford, showcasing why he is the cream of a very exciting crop of Premier League talent that has emerged on the scene this season.
According to the Opta-powered stats on FBREF, Ramsey looks to be one of the most-rounded midfielders in the Premier League, sitting in the top 20% of his counterparts for goals (0.21 per 90) and assists (0.18 per 90) as well as non-penalty goals.
It’s now season on season, and the 22-year-old seems to be improving his goal output, as referenced and highlighted by Aston Villa Statto [30 May] – under Emery, the Villa Park academy graduate has consistently popped up with crucial goals and assists registering six goals and seven assists last season.
Given Villa’s added European commitments in the coming weeks, Emery will need a deep and firing attacking unit and will be hoping and praying Ramsey returns from his injury lay-off sooner rather than later. He’s desperately needed.
In other Aston Villa news, one Villa Park star may have already emptied his locker for good as new footage emerged this week.