Callum O'Connell

Mon 12 February 2024 20:40, UK

Aston Villa have not had much to celebrate in the past few weeks.

A 5-0 rout of Sheffield United aside, the Villans have hit a bit of a blip with Sunday’s (11 February) 2-1 defeat to Manchester United the follow-up act to a 3-1 loss to Chelsea in an FA Cup fourth-round replay.

But there was even more disappointing news to emerge after the loss to the Red Devils at Villa Park with David Ornstein reporting that star midfielder Boubacar Kamara is set to miss the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL in the second half of that fixture.

The Athletic journalist stated via his X account (12 February) that Kamara will now undergo surgery and start rehab as he begins his path towards playing for Villa again.

This will have come as a bitter blow for Unai Emery’s side who still have hopes of a top-four finish and successful European campaign, but their season could be derailed by this news.

Kamara was a key part of Emery’s setup and had started all 20 of the 20 games he had been available for so far this season, playing an average of 83 minutes per game as he often remained on the field until the end of the game. [Sofascore]

Now, though, he will be a big miss in that midfield, as Villa will lose his tough tackling and no-nonsense style which has allowed the more forward-thinking players to thrive at Villa Park.

So far this season, Kamara has averaged 1.1 interceptions per game, 2.2 tackles per game, 4.9 recoveries per game and was only dribbled past an average of 1.2 times, displaying how effective he can be at slowing down play in the middle.

Not only his defensive stats stand out, though. He retains possession and brings his teammates into play excellently, averaging a 94 per cent passing accuracy in his own half, and drawing 1.5 fouls per game to ease the pressure on the defenders.

His presence has been typified by the increased attacking output of the midfielders alongside him. John McGinn has scored six and assisted two league goals this season, compared to just one and three last year, while Douglas Luiz has seen six goals and six assists become seven and four respectively.

Kamara’s last performance against United was another impressive one, with a 100 per cent dribble success rate and 94 per cent passing accuracy on top of two interceptions, one block, one tackle and one clearance before his injury forced him off in the 65th minute.

Without him in midfield, Villa will be losing a key dimension of their play, with so few options to replace him who could do the same job, with Youri Tielemans facing criticism for his displays. This could be a real turning point in their season.

In other Aston Villa news, one outstanding player shone against Manchester United.

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