Aston Villa will hope to continue their impressive start to the season with a home fixture against struggling Everton when domestic football returns next weekend, but first they must hope for their players to return from international fixtures injury-free and in good form.
Aston Villa players away on international duty
The Villans – like most Premier League sides – sit with bated breath hoping for an injury free international break, with a whole host of their players jetting off around the globe this week.
Ezri Konsa has one again been included in England’s squad and will hope to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold on the right hand side of Lee Carsley’s defence for their second fixture against Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.
John McGinn was hit with some last minute heartbreak at the hands of a 3-2 defeat to Poland last week, and is in action once more against Portugal in Lisbon this Sunday evening.
The players Unai Emery will likely be keeping the closest eye on fitness wise however are his South Americans, with Emi Martinez and Jhon Duran both facing long trips back to the Midlands and perhaps a race against time to be absolutely 100 per cent for the visit of the Toffees. One thing is for sure though, both players will be returning full of confidence.
While Martinez had a relatively easy evening in Argentina’s 3-0 win against Chile, facing just one shot on target, young striker Duran had a much more exciting evening for Colombia, as he grabbed an assist off the bench for his side’s only goal, setting up Liverpool’s Luis Diaz for a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw in Peru.
The 20 year-old Villa starlet, who has started the season on fire with two goals in just 82 minutes of Premier League action after a summer filled with exit links and controversy, once again showed his merit as a ‘super sub’, mustering up a busy performance despite playing just 18 minutes.
As well as his assist, Duran was an absolute nuisance in the air, winning three of his four aerial duels and racking up two shots of his own, one of which tested goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
The media in Colombia were impressed, via Aston Villa News, with El Heraldo saying he took his chance to impress, was “dangerous” throughout his time on the pitch and dominant in the air. El Tiempo echoed that sentiment, saying his presence and ability in the air made a huge difference.
It seems unlikely that Villa’s rising star is going to budge Ollie Watkins out of his starting role any time soon, but the fact Emery now has two excellent options – both offering different styles – can only be a huge positive as Villa get set to embark into four top level competitions in the coming weeks.
