Aston Villa suffer Boubacar Kamara injury blow before Premier League match against West Ham United
Aston Villa will be without French midfielder Boubacar Kamara for their Premier League clash against West Ham United on Sunday (12 March), Unai Emery has confirmed.
The Hammers will look to return to winning ways in the Premier League after their humiliating 4-0 defeat to Brighton last time out, when they host Villa at the London Stadium.
And the West Midlands outfit have been dealt a serious injury blow, with Kamara ruled out of the encounter with an ankle injury.
Brazilian centre-back Diego Carlos, however, who has been sidelined with a ruptured Achilles tendon for over six months, could return to action against David Moyes’ side.
As shared via Football Daily’s Twitter account (Friday, 10 March), Emery told the press: “Boubacar is not ready for Sunday but he’s going well. He was speaking with the doctor this morning and he’s doing well. It’s not too serious.
“His return depends, two weeks out maybe is long for Kamara himself. He was playing well and is important. We are going to check with each match. He will not be involved on Sunday but, next week, we’ll have a look. But he’s doing OK.”
Bounce back
West Ham United must find a way to take their brilliant form from the European Conference League and translate it into Premier League points.
The differing fortunes of the team in both competitions are quite remarkable, with the Hammers languishing a solitary point above the relegation zone as it stands with 13 games of the season remaining.
For much of the season, getting the ball in the back of the net has been West Ham’s undoing. However, with Aston Villa lynchpin Kamara ruled out, the likes of Said Benrahma and Lucas Paqueta should hopefully be awarded far more space to create opportunities in the final third.
Danny Ings will also be chomping at the bit to exact revenge on his previous employers, who deemed him surplus to requirements and gave the green light for a move to the London Stadium in the winter window.
Despite drawing a blank against Brighton last week, the Englishman’s brace against Nottingham Forest showed that when given an opportunity to score in the penalty area, he will usually make no mistake and finish with deadly accuracy.