Aston Villa hopeful over key man after injury scare

The England international left the field just minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute in the 4-0 victory at Walsall’s Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium, having landed awkwardly on his left ankle.

Initial tests have indicated the issue is not serious though a further assessment will be carried out.

Rogers is likely to miss Villa’s weekend double-header, which sees Unai Emery’s team play at Marseille on Saturday night and Villarreal 24 hours later, with the hope he will be ready to begin training again next week. Villa kick-off the Premier League season at home to Newcastle a week on Saturday, August 16.

Rogers’ injury was the only blot on what was otherwise an encouraging night for Emery as his team cruised past their Serie A visitors.

Emi Buendia opened the scoring with a delightful free-kick and then set-up up Ollie Watkins to score after Jacob Ramsey had doubled the advantage.

Donyell Malen then continued his impressive pre-season by adding a fourth late on.

Buendia impresses

Much as it is dangerous to draw too much from pre-season matches, Buendia will certainly have provided Emery with food for thought with an energetic, impressive display.

Two years on from suffering the serious knee injury which saw him miss the whole of the 2023-24 season, the Argentina international appears to have his confidence fully restored.

Villa would have been willing to let Buendia leave permanently this summer. An option to buy was included in the loan deal which saw him join Bayer Leverkusen for the second half of last season, though the Bundesliga club ultimately opted not to trigger it.

Leeds have been credited with an interest in Buendia all summer and it remains possible a bid which matches Villa’s valuation could see him depart before the end of the window.

For now though, Emery is happy to keep the 28-year-old on board.

Watkins lively

One player Villa insist they have no intention of selling is Watkins and the striker’s form so far in pre-season will only have strengthened that stance.

Watkins has netted in all four friendly matches he has played, with Wednesday’s goal against Roma his third header.

The 29-year-old looks refreshed and perhaps more importantly, recovered from the minor injury which forced him to miss international duty at the end of last season.

Watkins was also fighting a niggle at the start of the previous term, having had just three weeks rest following his exploits for England at Euro 2024. In terms of fitness levels, there was a sense he was playing catch-up for much of the campaign.

Right now, even taking those usual pre-season caveats into account, he could hardly look sharper, winning the free-kick from which Buendia opened the scoring on Wednesday with a neat turn and run.