Aston Villa receive positive update on key man's fitness

The striker was forced off just past the half-hour mark after experiencing pain in his hamstring, sparking fears he could become the latest senior player to face an extended spell on the sidelines.

But speaking on Friday, boss Unai Emery revealed a scan had shown no major damage, with the possibility Watkins could still face former club Brentford when they visit Villa Park on Sunday.

The 30-year-old will be assessed in Villa’s final training session ahead of the match on Saturday before Emery makes a decision on his involvement.

New signing Tammy Abraham is ready to make his second debut for the club from the start if required.

“Watkins, we will see tomorrow,” said Emery. “Today he had a scan, and it’s not a clear injury.

“He was tired yesterday and the scan is not giving us bad information.

“We will see tomorrow if he’s not feeling comfortable or if he’s feeling comfortable to decide to be with us on Sunday.”

Villa will also make a decision on Ross Barkley, after the midfielder trained with the first-team on Friday for the first time since suffering a knee injury in November.

Leon Bailey and another returning face, Douglas Luiz, will be in the squad after being ineligible for Thursday’s match.

Villa have seen Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans lost to injury this month but Emery remains confident in his squad.

He said: “It’s part of our job, and I always accept the injured players because it’s football.

“This is the reason why we are normally 22, 23, 24 players in the squad with the young players.

“During the season, you must be ready when someone is getting injured – hopefully not for a long time because a long injury is the worst thing for the players.

“We must compete, we must be ready, and we must get our performance like we need in each moment with the players we have.”