LIVE
...

Follow us on

News

Unai Emery says ‘fantastic’ Aston Villa star won’t feature against Everton

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has admitted that the Villans’ Premier League fixture on Sunday has come too soon for Lucas Digne.

The Villans head to Everton in a 2pm kickoff on Sunday, and for the most part, the visitors have been boosted by a number of returning players.

Villa trio Robin Olsen, Pau Torres and Youri Tielemans could all be available after returning to training, although Emery said they’ll all be individually assessed beforehand.

The Villans boss, speaking to the club’s , then said Digne remains out, while Bertrand Traore is obviously unavailable as he’s with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images

“Lucas Digne is out, he’s not available for Sunday,” said Emery. “And Bertrand Traore is with his national team.”

When pressed on a timescale about the 30-year-old defender’s return to fitness, Emery replied: “I don’t know exactly.

“We’re not playing next week, we’re playing two weeks later. Maybe yes, but we have to be patient with his comeback.”

Aston Villa will hope to maintain momentum against struggling Everton

Digne has been out of action since the end of last year. He sustained a hamstring injury in the Boxing Day defeat at Manchester United.

Earlier this week, the “” defender took to to share a picture of himself in training, showing he’s on the right track in terms of his fitness.

However, Sunday’s trip to Goodison Park comes too soon for Digne and Villa, who’ll likely continue with Alex Moreno at left-back.

The Frenchman has been a regular under Emery, starting 18 of the Villans’ Premier League fixtures this term.

Villa are second in the league table and will hope to make it three wins in a row in all competitions after beating Middlesbrough in the FA Cup and Burnley in the top flight.