Aston Villa: Unai Emery will be annoyed about Jacob Ramsey development for clash v Ajax
Unai Emery will be annoyed about the injury situation regarding Jacob Ramsey ahead of the Aston Villa game against Ajax on Thursday (14 March), according to Dan Bardell.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday (13 March, via John Townley), the Villa boss revealed that the 22-year-old won’t play in his side’s Europa Conference League second-leg tie against the Dutch giants at Villa Park.
The Villans are looking to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the competition after playing out a 0-0 draw in Amsterdam on 7 March.
Bardell believes the injury news on Ramsey is a “blow” for Emery’s side after what has been a stop-start season for the attacking midfielder, but he is confident he will return soon as the latest issue doesn’t appear to be too serious.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bardell said: “It’s a blow for him to be out again. It feels like every time he’s started to get any momentum this season, he’s broken down again.
“It’s a real shame and this season has almost ended up becoming a write-off for him because he was so good at the back end of last season.
“Villa are actually doing well without him, but imagine where they actually could have been if he’d have been fit all season, with his goals and the way he drives forward with the ball.
“I think he could have made a real difference in some games. He had started to look like he was back to the Jacob Ramsey of old, cutting in and getting shots away.
“That’s been taken away from us again, whether it be short term or long term, it’s going to set him back. It’s just been a really unfortunate situation for him.
“He hadn’t really struggled with injuries at any other point during his Villa career, so the first time he’s been hit with injuries, it’s really caused him problems.
“It’s just not been great, Emery will be annoyed with it as well because I think he was a key player last season. But it sounds like it’s not too bad this time and it’s one that he should recover from quite quickly.
“We need him back because we’re short and, week by week, the options to come off the bench and change a game seem to be getting less and less every week.”
Jacob Ramsey injury news disappointing for Aston Villa
It’s been an incredibly disappointing season for Ramsey after he missed the majority of the first half of the campaign for Villa through injury.
As Bardell points out, the attacking midfielder just looked to be getting back to his best before picking up an issue in the victory over Luton Town on 2 March.
But Emery will be confident that he still has more than enough quality at his disposal to claim a victory over Ajax and secure their place in the quarter-finals of the competition at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, a journalist has mooted a high-profile exit after a £110million+ development has emerged.
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