Aston Villa: Journalist makes ‘massive’ team news prediction for clash v Luton Town
Ezri Konsa could come back into the Aston Villa starting lineup and play 90 minutes against Luton Town on Saturday (2 March), according to Dan Bardell.
Villa have been boosted by the return of Konsa to first-team training this week ahead of the trip to Kenilworth Road after the 26-year-old missed the last four matches with an injury sustained in their 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on 3 February.
But there have been question marks raised about the fitness of fellow centre-back Pau Torres after he picked up an issue in the 4-2 victory over Nottingham Forest on 24 February.
Bardell believes Konsa may return to the starting lineup against the Hatters, but he questioned whether it could be worth saving Torres for the “massive” game at home to Tottenham on 10 March.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “You think Konsa would be able to come and slot back into the team, which would be a big bonus because he’s so reliable and consistent.
“Everyone talks about how unique Pau Torres is, but Villa haven’t got another defender like Konsa in terms of his recovery pace, the way he reads the game, the fact he never has to dive in and always finds himself in the right place whether he’s at right-back or centre-back.
“It will be great to have him in. I imagine he’s fit enough to come in and play 90 minutes immediately.
Unai Emery has Pau Torres decision to make for Aston Villa
“We hope that Pau Torres is fit for the Luton game. We definitely hope that he’s fit for the massive game against Tottenham the weekend after.
“I don’t know if it’s even worth him not taking part in the next two games before that Tottenham game because that one is so crucial.
“But it’s good that we’re starting to get players back because it had been starting to feel like results weren’t really going our way and suddenly someone was injured every week as well.
“Now it feels like we’ve picked up, we’ve won two games in a row and players are starting to come back, which can only be a plus.”
Aston Villa receive timely injury boost ahead of Luton clash
The return of Konsa has come at just the right time for Villa as they prepare for a few busy weeks, with Unai Emery’s side returning to Europa Conference League action against Ajax on 7 March.
That means they are going to need as many players as possible fit and healthy to be able to rotate between Europe and their Premier League matches over the coming weeks.
It could be worth saving Torres for the Tottenham game, but Emery will be keen to get the Spaniard and Konsa back playing together quickly after the form they showed before their injuries.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has shared the likelihood of Emery joining Liverpool.
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