Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has revealed that he has received a triple injury boost ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League fixture against Club Brugge.
The West Midlands outfit head into the second leg of their last-16 tie at Villa Park looking to defend their 3-1 advantage from last week’s first contest.
Emery has since been buoyed by the club’s 1-0 victory over Brentford on Saturday evening, extend their encouraging run which has seen just one defeat from eight matches in all competitions.
All attention is now on this game with Villa looking to set up a quarter-final showdown with either Paris Saint-Germain or Liverpool after the March international break.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Emery confirmed that his squad would be bolstered by the return of three key players.
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Which Villa players will return?
The Spaniard revealed that each of Emiliano Martinez, Amadou Onana and Marco Asensio would all be available for selection.
Goalkeeper Martinez has made just two appearances since sustaining a muscle injury against Crystal Palace back on February 25, albeit one of those games being the first leg in Brugge last week.
Although the Argentina star was rested against Brentford, he is now in a position to take his place between the sticks on Wednesday.
Asensio has also been suffering with muscle fatigue, a consequence of quickly making three starts and four substitute outings since his arrival at the start of February after previously barely featuring for Paris Saint-Germain from December onwards.
Meanwhile, a hamstring injury has hindered Onana since the middle of January, the Belgium international making a return on February 1 before missing the last five weeks of action.
At a time when Martinez and Asensio could start versus Brugge, Onana is expected to take his place among the replacements.
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“I don’t want to stop”
Emery has the responsibility of trying to maintain a challenge for silverware on two fronts, as well as earn a top-five place in the Premier League standings.
Speaking to reporters, Emery admitted Villa sitting in eighth spot was below expectations, saying: “We want to improve and get better in each process. We have to see it on the field. We need to show it. We are doing that at the moment more or less.
“We are getting better but we are under our own expectations in the Premier League. We have to try to get the balance in the next weeks and months in the league.
“But everything we are doing in the Champions League and the FA Cup is fantastic. To keep it going is the challenge. I don’t want to stop. I want to get something more.
“But we know how demanding it can be to achieve our collective an individual objectives in the coming weeks.”
Wednesday’s game is Villa’s last fixture until after the March international break, when they will resume with an FA Cup quarter-final tie at Preston North End.
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