Aston Villa have been dealt another potential injury blow in the lead-up to their next Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
In a recent post from the club’s official Twitter channel, it was revealed that winger Leon Bailey is a doubt for the clash at the City Ground due to a small muscle injury, although he has not yet been ruled out entirely.
Having started each of Villa’s last four league outings, during which he scored the goal which secured his team a point in their 1-1 draw against Manchester City, this shows how important the winger has been to Steven Gerrard recently.
Across his eight league appearances this term, the Jamaican has delivered the second-highest number of crosses (19) at the club, also carrying the ball into the 18-yard box on more occasions (eight) than any other Villa player.
He also has the joint-third highest number of passes into the 18-yard box (seven) in Gerrard’s ranks, further highlighting how active and dangerous he can be in the attacking areas of the pitch for his team.
Even though the 25-year-old has only delivered two goal contributions in the league so far this season, potentially having him unavailable on Monday would still be a big blow for Gerrard.
Taking into account how Forest have faced more shots on target (49) than any other side in the division, this suggests that Villa’s next opponents could give Bailey a good opportunity to potentially add another goal to his tally for the campaign.
Unless the winger is 100% fit enough to play, Gerrard should probably not risk him on Monday and instead turn to someone like Emi Buendia to start ahead of the Jamaican.
However, considering Bailey’s undoubted attacking prowess, his potential absence could have a big impact in how the match against Steve Cooper’s side goes.
