Watkins, Ramsey, Cash: Aston Villa injury news and return dates ahead of Lille & Arsenal games

Aston Villa face two huge matches this week as they take on Lille in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals before travelling to London to face league leaders Arsenal in a tough test of their Champions League credentials – but they will have at least five players missing on Thursday with a sixth absentee guaranteed for the match at the Emirates on Sunday.

Unai Emery will also be closely monitoring the fitness of Ollie Watkins, who appeared to come through the 3-3 draw against Brentford without further issues after missing the 4-1 defeat to Manchester City in midweek, but there are problems elsewhere that the Spaniard will have to contend with.

We’ve collected all of the latest injury news and possible return dates ahead of a crucial few days below.

Ollie Watkins

Villa haven’t issued any updates about Watkins’ condition after he managed the full 90 minutes against his former club Brentford last Saturday, scoring twice in the process, so it must be assumed that he has made a full recovery from the hamstring injury that he sustained against Wolverhampton Wanderers. If it remains necessary to manage his minutes, however, it’s possible that he doesn’t play the entirety of the game against Lille on Thursday.

Jacob Ramsey

The midfielder hasn’t played for Aston Villa since picking up a toe injury in the 3-2 win over Luton Town at the beginning of March, and Emery eventually confirmed last week that the 22-year-old wouldn’t play again this season – a bitter blow given the number of injuries and suspensions in midfield. He is expected to be able to play a full role in pre-season training, at least.

Matty Cash

Poland international Cash was forced off the field by a hamstring injury during the last international break as his team beat Wales on penalties to reach Euro 2024, and he hasn’t featured for Villa since. Villa haven’t set a timeline for his return, but reports suggest that he should be back by the end of the month. The game against Bournemouth on 21 April is probably the most optimistic target.

Douglas Luiz

Brazil midfielder Luiz will miss two matches through suspension after collecting his tenth yellow card of the campaign against Brentford – as a result, he will be unavailable for the Premier League games against Arsenal and Bournemouth, which will be a major blow for Emery’s side. He is likely to play a full role against Lille, at least, given that he will miss out at the weekend. Two players are one yellow card away from a European suspension, John McGinn and Moussa Diaby.

Boubacar Kamara

Another midfielder who will be missing for the rest of the season, Kamara has been outstanding this season but damaged his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester United in February and will now be out until September at the very least. One of three Villa players to suffer the same season-ending injury this campaign.

Emiliano Buendía

Argentine midfielder Buendía was the first Villa player to damage their ACL, in training shortly before the opening day of the season. He is not expected to play again this season but offered a positive update by posting a short video on social media showing him completing a pass-and-move training exercise. The hope is that he will be fit to play a full part in pre-season training this summer.

Tyrone Mings

Just a few days after Buendía, club captain Mings also suffered the same serious injury during the first game of the season against Newcastle United. Like his team-mates, Mings is not expected to feature again until next season but he too has posted videos of his training work to social media, including running the length of a training field. The hope is that he too will be a full participant in practice over the summer.