Konsa, Onana & Cash: Latest Aston Villa injury news ahead of Chelsea clash

Aston Villa face Chelsea on Saturday in a game which could have a significant impact on their chances of earning Champions League qualification for the second successive season – but their preparation has been hampered by a number of injuries to key players.

Ezri Konsa and Amadou Onana have both missed the last two matches due to injuries and were seen as doubts for the game at Villa Park, and we’ve got the latest updates on their conditions as well as the rest of the potential absentees following Unai Emery’s pre-match press conference on Friday.

Konsa & Onana news ahead of a massive match

England international Konsa has missed the last week of action after sustaining a muscle injury the 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur, and remains a doubt for Saturday’s late kick-off - but Emery sounded optimistic about his chances of being available, saying that “We are going to train later... I will test him and in case he is feeling good he will be in the squad.”

Summer signing Onana, meanwhile, sustained a thigh injury which has limited him to just 45 minutes of football across the last five games and will now miss “two or three weeks” more football, robbing Emery of a key piece in his midfield for as many as five matches, including the first leg of the Champions League last 16 against Club Brugge.

Another player who is expected to miss out in midfield is Ross Barkley. The former Everton and Luton Town man is “going slower [with his recovery] than we planned” due to pain caused by a calf injury which has kept him out since the 2-1 win over Leicester City at the start of January. He will need “a few more days” before he can get back to action.

Elsewhere in the squad, winger Leon Bailey, who has also missed the last two games due to a minor unspecified injury, is expected to be available for the match after returning to training this week, and Emery said that his situation is the same as with Konsa - as long as they come through the final training session, they will play.

Disasi unavailable as defensive depth becomes an issue

One player who will certainly miss out this weekend is loanee Axel Disasi, who is ineligible to face his parent club under Premier League loan rules – and he will be joined in the stands by Pau Torres as Emery faces a defensive headache.

Torres is expected to be out for another fortnight at least thanks to a serious ankle injury which he sustained at the beginning of January – but Emery has at least been bolstered by the early return of right-back Matty Cash from a muscular injury. The Poland international came on as a second-half substitute during the 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Wednesday, a week or two earlier than had initially been suggested.

Cash’s availability frees up youngster Lamare Bogarde to deputise at centre-half for either Konsa or Tyrone Mings should it be required. Boubacar Kamara, who has deputised in defence recently, picked up an injury 15 minutes into the game against Ipswich Town last weekend and will be out for up to three weeks as a consequence, all of which suggests that Konsa’s fitness will be crucial to Aston Villa’s chances of collecting a key win at home this weekend.