In the latest piece of terrible injury news is the confirmation that Villa’s French international midfielder Boubacar Kamara has suffered a serious knee injury.
Kamara went down during the 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United and immediately gestured to the bench. Despite managing to hobble off the pitch, it has since been revealed that he has likely suffered a ruptured ACL, which is nothing short of a hammer blow for the player and club.
Embed from Getty ImagesVilla’s injuries, particularly long-term, are now beginning to bite in a campaign that has seen the club competing at the top end of the division.
Additionally, an exercise in keeping the club’s finances lean and compliant with Financial Fair Play has left the squad looking decidedly thin. Leander Dondoncker was permitted a move on loan to Napoli and youngster Tim Iroegbunam has now suddenly gone from a fringe player to front and centre.
Knee injuries are also coming in for some scrutiny given their frequency amongst this Villa side. Both Mings and Buendia are themselves recuperating from ACLs that have ruled them out for the entire season. More recently, Ezri Konsa has been ruled out for at least a month after his knee impacted a post against Sheffield United. Indeed, confirmation of the severity of Konsa’s layoff has been ominously quiet.
For Kamara, we will have to wait for the outcome of further scans on the five time capped player to establish both the full extent and timescales for any return. Sadly, it looks all but certain that it’s a season-ending injury and a long road back to fitness for Villa’s integral 24-year-old holding midfielder.