Onana injury update shared ahead of Chelsea v Aston Villa, Emery will be worried
Unai Emery will require his strongest possible squad if Aston Villa are to get a positive result out of Chelsea on Sunday.
The two sides are set to go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge on 1 December, and despite a bright start to the 2024/25 campaign, the Villans have really struggled for form in recent weeks.
Emery’s side have gone from beating Bayern Munich and Bologna in the Champions League and winning four of their first five Premier League games to now being without a win in seven matches.
In that period, the Villans went on a four-game losing streak across all competitions, and with confidence clearly at an all-time low after a crushing late blow against Juventus, Chelsea is a tough next fixture.
The Blues sit third in the Premier League after 12 matches and having only lost one of their last eight games in all competitions, Villa face the prospect of playing them without Amadou Onana.
Amadou Onana to miss out on Aston Villa clash v Chelsea?
Speaking in his press conference, Emery said: “Ramsey of course is going to be out as well, but Onana, it depends on how he’s progressing. Tomorrow, if he can train or not, we will see.”
The Belgian, who has been dubbed “exceptional” by Glenn Murray, has been missing since the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday 9 November, sustaining his injury while away on international duty earlier this month.
In the two games since, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara or Ross Barkley have been called upon to make up the midfield partnership, and it is fair to say that they have missed Onana.
The 23-year-old has excelled since his £50million move from Everton in the summer [BBC Sport], keeping a steady 90 per cent passing accuracy, completing 75 per cent of his dribbles and winning 60 per cent of his tackles [FotMob].
He has completed more tackles than any other Villa player in the Premier League this season, winning 1.9 tackles per 90 minutes, and also making the most interceptions [FotMob].
Given that he ranks in the top 93 percentile for tackles, the top 81 percentile for interceptions and the top 86 percentile for aerials won [FBref], Emery will be sweating over the player’s fitness ahead of the clash.
In other Aston Villa, Unai Emery’s side are interested in signing Joshua Zirkzee as a new Manchester United exit update emerges.
For more Aston Villa news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.