Unai Emery’s Aston Villa side are chasing a top-five spot and with it qualification for the Champions League, but the Spanish boss has now come under fire for the way he uses his players
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has come under fire from Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia after Youri Tielemans saw his season ended by injury. Tielemans has been a key player for the Midlands side.
He has made 52 appearances in all competitions, all of which have been starts. In fact, the Belgian midfielder has become the first Villa player since 1996 to start more than 50 games in one season.
But he has been sidelined since the start of the month with a calf injury. Boss Emery does not expect him to be able to return to action for the final day clash against Manchester United.
Villa must win at Old Trafford and hope other results go their way if they are to qualify for the Champions League. Tielemans’ absence will be a major blow for Villa’s hopes of a top five place.
And it also hands a problem to Garcia, whose side will kick off their World Cup 2026 qualification campaign in June. The Red Devils take on North Macedonia and Wales in next month’s international window.
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Garcia has included Tielemans in his squad for those two games. And the Belgium boss has made it clear he is less than happy with the 28-year-old’s current fitness status, criticising Emery for playing him too much.
“Obviously, there’s the final match for Aston Villa this weekend, and it’s very important because the top of the table is very tight in the race for Champions League qualification,” Garcia said.
“What matters is that Youri is fully recovered – not necessarily that he plays in the last match. He’s already played plenty this season. I think he’s the player who has played the most. I would even say it’s not surprising that he got injured, because to me, he played too much.
“Sure, Amadou Onana was injured for a while, but I think within Aston Villa’s squad, there were ways to give him some rest at times. I know Boubacar Kamara well, because I was the one who gave him his debut at Marseille. He was a central defender, and I turned him into a midfielder.
“That speaks to the kind of position changes we could consider, maybe even at right-back, with players from the national team. They have McGinn who can play there too… So in my opinion, they really had plenty of players to give Youri a break and avoid injury.
In positive news, Garcia did reveal that he expects Tielemans to be fit for June’s matches. But he did admit that the particular injury the midfielder has picked up is one that can fool medical teams.
“Apparently, it’s not too serious, but it’s the calf. And personally, I don’t like calf injuries because they’re sneaky. I don’t know if that makes sense – they’re sneaky and insidious. So I really hope Aston Villa’s medical staff have analysed it well for Youri,” he added.
“And that he doesn’t come back too soon and re-injure himself this weekend. That’s why I’m telling you that if he doesn’t play, it’s not a problem. I’d rather we take care of his recovery ourselves. At least that way, we’ll be sure of the quality of the recovery.”
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