Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Tue 7 April 2026 10:10, UK

Jadon Sancho’s injury could cause a selection headache for Unai Emery, as Aston Villa take on Bologna in the Europa League.

The Villans secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the competition last month, via a 3-0 aggregate win against Ligue 1 outfit Lille.

With the Premier League on pause due to the recent FA Cup weekend, it will be almost three weeks since Villa have played competitively by the time they travel to Emilia-Romagna on Thursday.

During that time, wideman Sancho sustained an injury in a friendly against Elche, leaving him sidelined for the foreseeable future.

As the B6 outfit look to secure their spot in the semi-finals, Emery has been handed a big decision to make regarding just who operates out wide for his side.

Jadon Sancho absence sends Unai Emery to the drawing board

Signing on loan from Manchester United last summer, Sancho has continued to improve throughout his time at Villa Park.

While his numbers have not skyrocketed, he has proven a solid addition under Emery, after a tumutlous period in Manchester.

With Sancho sidelined at the wrong time of the season, Emery has a big decision to make.

Since returning from a loan spell with Roma in January, Leon Bailey has failed to impress out wide, while the same can be said for Alysson, who is yet to pull up any trees in claret and blue.

While he is much more suited to a central role, Morgan Rogers may be best-suited to fill in on the left given the respective form of Villa’s options for the flanks.

With both Rogers and John McGinn on the flanks being more unorthodox widemen, just how high both Matty Cash and Lucas Digne can get on the touchline will be a big factor to look out for – allowing the pair to take up spaces in more central areas.

Harvey Elliott would be an option to play behind Ollie Watkins, though his fortunes at Villa Park suggest that Emi Buendia will likely be the man to play in the number 10 role.

Youri Tielemans and John McGinn returns could provide aid

Since the turn of the year, Villa have had torrid luck on the injury front.

With both McGinn and Youri Tielemans sidelined for most of the calendar year thus far, Emery’s side have looked slow and ponderous at times, with Rogers himself struggling as sides continued to mark him out as the biggest threat.

As highlighted by the graphic provided by Sofascore below, Tielemans, in particular, is crucial to the style of play in B6.

With the Belgian’s ability to control a game in midfield, and the non-stop energy of McGinn, Villa now have two big threats to take some of the burden away from Rogers.

Potentially playing out on the flank, his game will naturally be more limited, though this will be eased with the added impact of the returning pair – something the Villans sorely missed for the early part of this year.

Facing Bologna on Thursday, Emery’s side will be looking to bring an advantage back to Villa Park ahead of the second leg.