Watkins, Bailey, Mings: Aston Villa injury news and return dates ahead of Everton clash

Aston Villa will be hoping to register their first home win of the season when they welcome struggling Everton to Villa Park on Saturday – but Unai Emery has several potential selection headaches ahead of him, with question marks hovering over the heads of a number of key players.

Five players missed out on the 2-1 win over newly-promoted Leicester City on the last weekend of Premier League action, while winger Leon Bailey was taken off after just 15 minutes with a problem of his own. Then, to add to the growing list of concerns, Ollie Watkins had to withdraw from Lee Carsley’s England squad ahead of the Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

We’ve collected all of the latest updates on all of the players who could miss out against Sean Dyche’s side below, along with their expected return dates.

Ollie Watkins

Villa’s star striker hasn’t had the best start to the new campaign and missed gilt-edged chances against both West Ham United and Arsenal, but he will almost certainly still be the first name on Emery’s team-sheet if he’s fit to play this weekend – which will depend on whether he is fully fit after returning to his club following an assessment by the England medical team last Tuesday.

Watkins was sent back for rehabilitation on an undisclosed “ongoing issue” but the club have not released any further updates and it remains unclear as to whether he will be ready to take the field against Everton.

Leon Bailey

The Jamaica international suffered a hamstring injury when he lunged to block a pass a quarter of an hour into the game against Leicester, with Emery telling the media after full-time that he didn’t know the extent of the injury at the time – but he also said that he would “maybe not” be back after the international break.

The injury meant that he missed out on a return to the Jamaica squad under new manager Steve McClaren. Bailey had agreed to return to the fold after he chose to take a break from international duty due to a dispute with the Jamaican Football Federation.

Tyrone Mings

More than a year after suffering a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury on the opening day of the 2023/24 season against Newcastle United, Mings is back in full training with the team.

The England centre-back joined team sessions on 30 August and is believed to be making good progress back towards full fitness, but the club remain coy on his availability for future fixtures. A place on the bench against Everton is a possibility, but Emery may choose to take his time when it comes to giving Mings minutes again.

Matty Cash

The right wing-back is out for the game against Everton thanks to a hamstring injury picked up during the course of the recent 2-0 defeat to Arsenal. Next weekend’s match against Wolverhampton Wanderers is the earliest plausible return date but the trip to Portman Road on 29 September is his most likely return date.

Jaden Philogene

The young winger sustained “a kick” in a training session on the Wednesday prior to the game against Leicester, according to Emery, and missed out on selection despite initial optimism that he would be ready to play. After the 2-1 win, the manager said that Philogene would “hopefully” be ready to face Everton. There has been no suggestion of setbacks since, so he is expected to be in the squad.

Diego Carlos

The Brazilian defender has yet to play this season and didn’t even make the bench against Leicester with reports circulating that he had picked up an unspecified knock. No details of the injury have been made public by the club, and it is unclear whether he will be able to play this weekend.

Boubacar Kamara

Like Mings, the French midfielder had his 2023/24 season ended by an ACL injury, but he has yet to return to full team training as his rehabilitation continues. He is believed to be making good progress and is close to fitness, but is highly unlikely to be involved on Saturday.