Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans is facing an extended period on the sidelines after manager Unai Emery confirmed he is set to miss up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury.
The 28-year-old sustained the injury during Villa’s 2-0 victory over Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday that moved his side to within four points of Premier League leaders Arsenal, and was replaced by Lamare Bogarde in the 74th minute following a clash with Lewis Miley.
Tielemans’ absence exacerbates an already challenging injury crisis in Villa’s midfield. He joins Boubacar Kamara, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season, and John McGinn, who recently underwent successful surgery and is anticipated to be out for six to eight weeks.
Emery provided an update on the trio, stating: “We know about Kamara, McGinn and Tielemans. Kamara is a long time, I think he’s not going to play this season. McGinn, more or less, is 6-8 weeks out, and Tielemans is 8-10 weeks out.”
The significant midfield absences mean Villa will be without several first-choice options for their final Europa League group-stage match against RB Salzburg at Villa Park on Thursday. While Villa have already secured their place in the top eight, they will be aiming to claim top spot with a win.
Emery acknowledged the challenge: “After those updates of those players, we need to see how we can manage central midfielders in the matches we are going to play.”
He did offer some positive news, confirming that Ross Barkley is “coming back in a few days” after training individually, and that other players are “well, they are fine for tomorrow.”
Further boosting midfield options, Emery also indicated that Douglas Luiz is close to rejoining the club.
The 27-year-old previously made over 200 appearances for Villa before his move to Juventus in 2024. Having spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, the Brazilian is poised to return to Villa Park for the rest of the campaign.
Emery added: “Amadou Onana will be coming back and Ross Barkley will be back in a few days. I think Luiz is close to happening.”
Meanwhile, Leon Bailey’s loan at Roma was terminated last week, but he will not be involved on Thursday.
New signing Tammy Abraham is also ineligible for the Europa League after not being registered.
Abraham rejoined the club permanently on Tuesday from Besiktas, having previously been part of the Villa side that won promotion back to the Premier League in 2019, scoring 26 goals in 40 appearances.
Emery confirmed: “Of course, they are not involved in the Europa League, Leon Bailey and Tammy Abraham. They are out, but we have enough players.”
He expressed enthusiasm for Abraham’s return, noting: “When we let Donyell Malen leave, Tammy Abraham was one of the players we had in mind. It is important to have two strikers. We are excited how he can help us.”
