Aston Villa goalkeeper Tom Heaton has spoken out regarding his season-ending knee injury.
The Englishman was stretchered off during Villa’s Premier League clash against Heaton’s former club Burnley after landing awkwardly on his knee at Turf Moor.
As reported on BBC Sport, the goalkeeper has been ruled out for the rest of the season but Heaton feels that it could take a very long time until he is back in action.
When speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day, Heaton said:
Making progress. Obviously, it’s massively disappointing, I think it’s going to be a longer one. It’s going to require some patience.
At the time I thought I’d dived into the post, that’s how ridiculous it was. Watching it back I landed funny as I came down on the knee.
On the pitch, I thought I’d got away with it, but I tried to stand up and with a quick yell of pain, I was back down again.
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Heaton’s comments are concerning to us because it sounds like he may not even be ready for the start of next season, which is a very long period of time.
The 33-year-old has played in 20 top-flight matches this season, keeping four clean sheets (Transfermarkt), but he was key for the team because of his shot-stopping ability.
As stated on the Premier League’s official website, the Englishman made 68 saves for Villa, making zero errors that contributed to a goal, which shows his reliability.
Manager Dean Smith signed the experienced Pepe Reina on a loan deal until the end of the season to cover for the injured Heaton but if he is not back for the beginning of the new campaign, the boss may need to plot a summer move for another goalkeeper.
We believe the injury is a huge blow for the player because of the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament, which he is set to miss because of the injury.
