Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Arsenal, Dean Smith confirmed in Friday’s pre-match press conference that Aston Villa will be without Kortney Hause and Wesley Moraes.
It’s no surprise as Hause was ruled out for up to six weeks with a foot injury while Wesley is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but otherwise have a clean bill of health.
Smith said: “Wesley’s not close yet, he’s been involved in non-contact training, still not in contact training yet. Kortney Hause is obviously still out, he’s the only one.”
The Brazilian striker has been sidelined for 13 months while the defender has been out since the end of 2020. Ollie Watkins has ably led the line up front while Tyrone Mings has forged a formidable centre-back partnership with Ezri Konsa in recent weeks.
Saturday’s meeting with Arsenal will be Villa’s fourth game in 10 days after facing Burnley, Southampton and West Ham since 27 January. Smith has made only one alteration to his starting XI during this period of games, only swapping out Bertrand Traore for Anwar El Ghazi against West Ham, so Villa have done well not to have any further injury concerns given the busy schedule.
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Hause doesn’t look likely to return until late March, while it remains to be seen if Wesley is back before the season ends.
However, it’s good to hear that Smith has a near-full squad at his disposal aside from those two long-term absences.
