João Gomes is expected to miss the start of Aston Villa’s Premier League campaign after suffering an injury following Wednesday’s UEFA Super Cup defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazil international has made an encouraging start following his £38million summer move from Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Villa are now facing an early setback with one of Unai Emery’s major new signings.
According to talkSPORT, citing The Athletic, Gomes is expected to spend between two and four weeks on the sidelines.
João Gomes injury adds to Aston Villa midfield problems
Gomes featured against PSG in Salzburg and came agonisingly close to scoring when Warren Zaïre-Emery produced a superb block to deny him late in the contest.
His absence now leaves Emery with another midfield problem just over a week before Villa open their Premier League season away to Brighton.
Villa are already without Amadou Onana, who is facing a lengthy recovery after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the World Cup.
Youri Tielemans also left the club earlier this summer to join Manchester United, increasing the importance of Gomes following his arrival from Wolves.
ReadAstonVilla covered Villa’s official completion of the £38m João Gomes signing after the midfielder became one of Emery’s key summer additions.
The 25-year-old brought considerable Premier League experience to Villa Park after making 130 appearances for Wolves and establishing himself as one of the division’s most aggressive ball-winning midfielders.
His expected recovery timeframe means Saturday’s final pre-season friendly against Borussia Mönchengladbach is out of the question, while the opening league fixtures are now also under threat.
Villa will hope the injury proves closer to the lower end of the estimated timeframe.
After reshaping their midfield heavily this summer, losing Gomes so close to the start of the domestic campaign is another problem Emery could have done without.
