Tielemans, Alysson & McGinn: Latest Aston Villa injury news and expected return dates

Aston Villa’s Premier League title challenge will be put to its next test on Sunday when they take on Brentford, a few days after they welcome RB Salzburg to Villa Park in the Europa League – but Unai Emery’s ability to navigate his way through this week’s matches is once again set to be hampered by injury issues.

Youri Tielemans is the latest midfielder to suffer a potentially serious injury and could join John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara on the sidelines for this week’s matches, while new signing Alysson is still waiting to make his debut due to fitness problems. In total, Aston Villa could be forced to make do without as many as five first-team players.

With the game against RB Salzburg fast approaching, we’ve collected all of the latest Aston Villa injury news below along with the absent players’ expected return dates when available.

How bad is Youri Tieleman’s injury – and when will he be back?

Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans was forced off the field with around a quarter of an hour remaining during Sunday’s impressive 2-0 win over Newcastle United, and it transpired to be an ankle injury which necessitated his withdrawal – and unfortunately, it seems likely that it was serious.

According to The Athletic, initial scans which took place on Monday revealed that Tielemans would be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks, although a precise timeline has not yet been determined with additional tests expected to take place over the course of the week.

The 28-year-old, who won Aston Villa’s player of the year award last season, is currently expected to be targeting a comeback ahead of the next international break, which takes place on the final weekend of March, although further updates may reveal a more precise return date.

The injury to Tielemans has sparked Villa into action in the transfer market, and the club are expected to complete the loan signing of former midfielder Douglas Luiz imminently following successful negotiations with Juventus. A verbal agreement is in place but the transfer had not been formally announced at the time of publication.

McGinn, Alysson & Kamara among Aston Villa absentees

Tielemans’ injury adds to Aston Villa’s problems in midfield, which were also worsened this week by the news that John McGinn is set to be out for longer than originally anticipated with a knee issue.

Early reports had suggested that McGinn would be sidelined for around three weeks, but he now appears to be set for a lengthier spell on the sidelines and is expected back around mid-March, likely slightly ahead of Tielemans.

The news regarding McGinn and Tielemans come as especially painful blows given the severity of Boubacar Kamara’s recent knee injury, which is likely to cause the Frenchman to miss the rest of the season. The 26-year-old underwent successful surgery in Lyon last week.

Another midfielder set to miss more time is Ross Barkley, who has struggled with his fitness all season and hasn’t featured since November. The former Everton man is back in light training and is expected to return to full training soon, with an eye to a mid-February return.

Finally, Aston Villa are also still waiting for new signing Alysson to make his debut due to injury – the 19-year-old winger arrived in the Midlands with a knee problem and suffered a relapse shortly after he began training with his new club. Villa have kept details of the severity of the problem under wraps so far, and there is no return date available as yet.

READ MORE: Aston Villa's next signing could be their £59m missing piece