Amadou Onana has picked up a hamstring injury during a midweek Aston Villa practice. The development is not expecting to see him out for too long of a period. This does, however, mean that the Belgium international will miss the international break for the Red Devils, and he will not be able to play against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
For a midfield that looked to be one of the better situations in all the Premier League, Villa will now be without Onana and Boubacar Kamara.
Naturally, Youri Tielemans is expected to stay in his central midfield role. To be paired alongside him, expect either John McGinn or Lamare Bogarde to be asked to fill in as the other CM in the formation.
While a lot of attention will understandably be on who plays in place of Onana and Kamara, the impact of Onana not being available is going to be immediately felt. As is, Villa have not been able to display full control on the pitch during a match. Granted, the first game against Newcastle United saw a red card keeping Villa fighting with 10 men. Something like that, of course, impacts how a side is able to play.
Need for Aston Villa to shift players around
Regardless, even when playing with a full squad of 11, the possession has not really translated to clear-cut goal-scoring opportunities. Now being without Onana for the immediate future will make the task of reversing this trend that much more difficult.
It is difficult for any side to replace two players at the same position. When also considering how the transfer window has gone for Villa, it makes that task that much more difficult.
It remains to be seen how Unai Emery will look to move forward until Kamara and Onana are able to return for Villa.