Aston Villa hoping for midfielder boost
Villa are continuing to assess Jacob Ramsey in the hope the midfielder could return before the international break.
The 22-year-old has missed the last two matches with a foot injury sustained in the 3-2 win at Luton earlier this month.
Villa’s squad is now set to be tested even further following the loss of John McGinn to suspension for three matches, making any involvement from Ramsey a significant boost for boss Unai Emery.
The Spaniard has not yet ruled out a return this week with Villa hosting Ajax in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night, before travelling to West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
“We are waiting to see if he’s getting better to start training,” said Emery, when asked for an update on Ramsey’s fitness.
“This week it could be but it’s not completely sure he’ll be ready.”
Youngster Tim Iroegbunam will be asked to step up in the absence of McGinn, who was sent-off in Sunday’s 4-0 defeat to Tottenham.
The 20-year-old’s only previous Premier League start came nearly two years ago and his appearance in last week’s 0-0 draw against Ajax was his first start under Emery.
Villa’s boss allowed Leander Dendoncker to join Napoli on loan in January but then lost Boubacar Kamara to a season-ending knee injury.
“We have Tim in the squad and he played on Thursday in Amsterdam and on Sunday 20 minutes,” said Emery.
“We also have Douglas Luiz and (Youri) Tielemans, they are of course two similar players and sometimes when they play they need one stopper player close to them.
“I’m going to give the opportunities, either with Tim or playing Tielemans and Luiz there and try to protect them.”
