Aston Villa: New Unai Emery ‘headache’ emerges ahead of Ajax clash amid Jacob Ramsey update
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has a new “headache” to deal with after it was confirmed that Jacob Ramsey would miss the clash with Ajax, according to Alan Hutton.
The 22-year-old limped off in the first half of the Villans’ win over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road in the Premier League, being replaced by Morgan Rogers who impressed with a lively cameo from the bench against the Hatters.
After initial fears that Ramsey had suffered a reoccurrence of the metatarsal injury that plagued him at the start of the season, Emery confirmed in his pre-match press conference that the midfielder had not suffered a serious injury [Birmingham Live, 7 March].
Ramsey will however not be fit enough to feature against Ajax on Thursday (7 March) in the Europa Conference League round of 16 and Hutton admits that will have been a blow to both the player and Emery.
“It happens but it’s not ideal,” Hutton told Villa News.
“If you ask any manager, they want every single player fit. They would rather have the headache of choosing players rather than thinking who are we going to start in this position because x,y and z are injured.
“For him as well, he had a difficult start to the season with injury in the summer and then when he came back the team were doing well and it was difficult for him to get in.
“But I always believed he had the potential and that ability to be a regular starter and then when he picked up another injury, it was not great.
“He’s a young guy, he’s got the world at his feet if he wants it so he needs to take his time to get back from the injury. Get back, be as fit as he can and then go from there because the team needs him.”
Will Jacob Ramsey be fit to start for Aston Villa against Ajax?
As Hutton suggested, it has been an incredibly frustrating season for Ramsey so far as every time the midfielder has begun to find his feet in Emery’s side, he has suffered a new setback that has pushed him out of the team.
While that does create opportunities for other members of the playing squad, it is incredibly frustrating for Emery as he looks to create a consistent side capable of competing in the Premier League and the Europa Conference League.
Hopefully, the Villa boss’ suggestion that this latest blow is only a minor injury is correct and the 22-year-old may well even be able to return to the fold to face Tottenham in the league on Sunday (10 March).
In other Aston Villa news, Hutton has tipped Emery to hand Morgan Rogers his European debut against Ajax ahead of Leon Bailey
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