Aston Villa dealt blow with midfielder facing at least two months out
Villa have been dealt a blow after Ross Barkley was ruled out for at least two months with a knee injury.
The midfielder was forced off with a sprain just 12 minutes after coming off the bench in the second half of Sunday’s 1-0 derby win over Wolves.
And he is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after boss Unai Emery revealed the injury to be worse than first expected.
“It’s a pity because we were now getting performances with him,” said Emery.
“He was helping us, progressing a lot and was so, so close to being in the first XI.”
Barkley has scored four goals in 27 Premier League appearances since joining Villa from Luton for £5million in the summer of 2024.
But only three of those appearances have been starts, with the 31-year-old enduring several spells on the sideline with injury.
Barkley did not make his first appearance of the current season until October after spending time out dealing with personal issues. He netted his first goal of the campaign in last month’s 4-0 win over Bournemouth but is not now expected back until February at the earliest.
Emery expected Tyrone Mings to be sidelined for another four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up in last month’s defeat at Liverpool.
