Unai Emery says World Cup quartet behind schedule before Brighton opener | OneFootball

Unai Emery says four of Aston Villa’s World Cup players are playing catch-up before the Premier League opener at Brighton’s Amex.

According to TheArgus.co.uk, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez were given extended breaks after reaching the final weekend of the summer tournament. All three missed the Salzburg European Super Cup against Paris St Germain, which was 11 days before Albion.

Summer signing Johan Manzambi is out with a knee injury sustained while representing Switzerland at the World Cup.

Emery said the trio finished on 19 July and he granted four weeks off, which he considered necessary. He accepted Villa would not be at their best for the Super Cup, but said they would compete, preparing with the early-return group that includes some youngsters. He noted his past Super Cup campaigns mostly came in August, calling this a similar scenario.

Villa visit Borussia Monchengladbach for a friendly on Saturday, then have eight days clear before facing Albion.

Source: TheArgus.co.uk

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”