Credit: Imago

James Barker

Sat 9 May 2026 11:10, UK

Aston Villa will face Freiburg in the Europa League final, and the Bundesliga side will be without star attacking midfielder Yuito Suzuki.

Thursday 7 May 2026 is a date that will live long in the memory of every Aston Villa fan, as Unai Emery‘s side stormed past Nottingham Forest to book their tickets to Istanbul.

A 4-0 win on the night and a 4-1 aggregate victory ensured Villa Park was a much happier place to be than in their previous outing against Tottenham, where many Villa players didn’t really look interested and the atmosphere turned toxic.

What a difference a few days can make though, as B6 was as loud as it’s been for some time on Thursday, and now all that stands in the Villans’ way of Europa League glory is German outfit, Freiburg.

Julian Schuster’s side squeezed past Braga 4-3 on aggregate, and are now hoping to lift their first piece of European silverware on 20 May.

What has been said about Yuito Suzuki’s Freiburg injury?

At this stage of the season, injuries and attrition can really start taking their toll on playing squads.

Indeed, Aston Villa have a few players sidelined, as they continue to sweat on Amadou Onana’s fitness for the final games of the campaign.

Freiburg are no different, with Schuster’s team missing a number of important players in both defence and midfield.

However, they’ve now been handed a big injury blow to one of their most dangerous attacking players, Suzuki.

Indeed, as detailed in a report from BirminghamLive, the 24-year-old attacking midfielder fractured his collarbone in Freiburg’s Bundesliga game against Wolfsburg last Sunday.

As such, the Japanese international is now set for an extended period of time on the sidelines, and won’t play any part in the Europa League final against Aston Villa on 20 May.

How important has Suzuki been for Freiburg this season?

Signed in a €10million euro/£8.6m deal from Danish side Brondby last summer, Suzuki has enjoyed an impressive debut 2025-26 season with Freiburg, scoring nine times and providing five assists in 41 games.

Four of those goals and two assists have come in the Europa League too, with only winger Vincenzo Grifo scoring more than him in the competition this term with five.

As per FotMob, he’s created 25 chances from 25 Bundesliga appearances this season, with a 30 per cent crossing accuracy rate and a 52.9 per cent dribble success rate respectively.

He’s also enjoyed a 62.5 per cent long ball success rate, taken 38 shots on goal with 14 on target, has a passing accuracy of 77.5 per cent and has 72 recoveries.

In the Europa League meanwhile, Suzuki has really shined, creating 12 chances in 11 appearances, completing 14 dribbles, has taken 40 touches in the opposition box and won 46 duels.

Suzuki has also won one penalty, won 15 tackles, made 44 recoveries, has scored 0.40 goals per 90 and his team have conceded just 0.50 goals per game when he’s been on the pitch.

To summarise, Suzuki is a very important and impactful player for Freiburg, especially in the Europa League, and so not having him for the final hands a significant boost to Aston Villa’s chances of victory.