Aston Villa hopeful on Ollie Watkins after manager's update

Watkins hurt his knee when colliding with the post during last week’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales and was sent home early from international duty.

But there remains a chance he will be recovered in time to play when Villa restart their season in north London.

Discussing Watkins’ injury, England boss Thomas Tuchel said the 29-year-old would “try to make it for the weekend” after being sent back to Bodymoor Heath for further assessment.

"Instead of scoring, he injured himself unfortunately,” said Tuchel. “It was such a big chance, an easy second goal for him. He was unlucky to hit the goalpost.

“It was very painful for him still and it's just not possible for him to train and also not to play. So, we sent him home.”

Watkins had scored his sixth international goal earlier in the evening but then collided with the post after sending a simple chance off target from close range.

The former Brentford man, who is Villa’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League, has endured a difficult start to the current season, netting only once in seven top flight matches.

Unai Emery’s team, who did not win any of their first six matches in all competitions, have won four on the spin but now face a testing run of fixtures, starting with the weekend trip to third-placed Spurs.

Villa then host Manchester City and high-flying Bournemouth, either side of an away fixture at champions Liverpool.