Unai Emery must find quick Ezri Konsa Aston Villa solution as Jamie Carragher notes ‘real blow’ v Manchester United
Unai Emery will be all too aware he has to find a quick solution to a potential long-term problem for Aston Villa after seeing Ezri Konsa forced off just 12 minutes against Manchester United.
A challenge with Rasmus Hojlund saw the England international feel his hamstring and, after a quick assessment from the club’s medical staff, was withdrawn early on at Villa Park.
Diego Carlos came on to replace Konsa, who had shifted into centre-half with the return of Matty Cash, but with both players having come under criticism at times, Emery might have a headache to cope with.
On co-commentary live on Sky Sports Premier League [6 October], Jamie Carragher summed it up nicely, saying: “It’s a real blow for Aston Villa. It’s just a coming-together between himself and Hojlund.
“Straight away, as soon as you see a player go for the back of the leg with the hamstring, you know that’s the end of the game for them.”
Aston Villa keep hopes up on Ezri Konsa
Konsa is a key player for Aston Villa as he suits Emery’s style of play down to the ground.
A perfectly comfortable passer from the backline, the eight-cap England defender excels at progressing from the back.
As Fotmob statistics show, has averaged a whopping 93.7% pass accuracy in the Premier League this season.
This is further supplemented by a 91% passing success across the past 365 days, as illustrated by FBRef with a far superior record to most of his fellow Premier League defenders in possession.
Versatile both on the right and centre of the defence, the 26-year-old has not been directly tackled once in the league in 2024-25, and has shown his defensive nous with a 78% aerial duel success rate [Sofascore], plus 71.4% of his tackles won [Fotmob].
Konsa is a recent call-up by Lee Carsley to the England squad taking on Greece and Finland this month, but this has now been thrown into major doubt.
From the perspective of those at Villa Park, there will just be the hope he can return inside a short timeframe in the Premier League and Champions League in claret and blue.
In other Aston Villa news, a “baffled” reaction to a decision on Morgan Rogers.
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