Aston Villa have suffered an injury blow ahead of Saturday’s trip to face Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Daily Mail reporting that Ross Barkley is out with a hamstring problem.
The 27-year-old missed Villa’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham United at the end of November and would also have been sidelined for the meeting with Newcastle United last Friday had it not been postponed. He won’t be back in time for the Midlands derby this weekend, either.
Barkley has made nine appearances in all competitions for Villa since joining on a season-long loan from Chelsea, scoring two goals and supplying one assist. He has been a regular under Dean Smith, is impressing in midfield and could be signed permanently if he ends the campaign as strongly as he has started it.
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In Barkley’s absence, Smith could call upon Conor Hourihane to come in alongside John McGinn and Douglas Luiz. It was that midfield trio which started against West Ham and delivered a decent performance but ended up on the losing side.
Hourihane has been a regular in the matchday squad, scoring one goal and providing one assist in four Premier League games, so he seems the best option to replace the England international. While Barkley will be a loss, at least the Irishman is a more than capable deputy to come into the side.
In other news, Aston Villa face interest from a prominent Serie A club for one of their players.
