Despite everything, Aston Villa did receive a piece of good news earlier. Boubacar Kamara has been deemed fit enough to return for Unai Emery's side. The presence of the midfielder has proven to be immensely valuable.
Part of the reason that there was so much hope heading into the campaign is due to the similar cast that made a return for the claret and blue for the current season.
The midfield in particular, though, has suffered in terms of injuries. Kamara has missed time, as have Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana. It is safe to say that any club would struggle when missing out on the chance to play the top three options for any given position in question.
With the Sunderland match set to be played on Sunday, Kamara is going to be able to provide a boost for a side that desperately needs any form of positive momentum.
It remains to be seen if Unai Emery will start the Frenchman or if he will look to ease the midfielder back into the rotation instead. The Villa boss could see the situation to be so dire that Kamara would be, in a sense, rushed back during a set of circumstances in which he otherwise would not have been asked to see the pitch during his continued recovery period.
Encouraging sign for Aston Villa
In the event that Kamara does not start, it is already well-established as to what John McGinn brings to the side, regardless of where he lines up. An additional bright spot, despite the injuries, has been the emergence of Lamare Bogarde. It is a small sample size to this point, but the youngster has looked promising as he has been asked to step up due to the nature of the other Villans' fitness levels.
In any event, Villa will happily welcome back Kamara, regardless of the exact role that he plays against Sunderland.