Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa ruled out for season finale
Villa expect to know the extent of Ezri Konsa’s knee injury in the next 48 hours with the defender unlikely to play again this season.
Konsa was forced off early in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace after a tangle with opposing striker Jean-Philippe Mateta.
The 24-year-old is now due for an MRI scan and while Villa boss Steven Gerrard does not expect him to feature in either of the club’s remaining two fixtures, the fear is the problem could be more long-term.
“We're concerned about Ezri,” said Gerrard. “Normally, someone like him wouldn't come off the pitch unless there was a problem. I think we have got a problem.
“We'll send him off for an MRI scan. I'll be extremely surprised if he plays again [this season]. We'll know in the next 24-48 hours.”
Gerrard, meanwhile, expressed frustration at his team’s lack of killer instinct after they were held to a draw which damaged their chances of a top-10 finish.
Ollie Watkins’ 11th Premier League goal of the season put Villa on course for a third victory in four matches but substitute Jeffrey Schlupp levelled for Palace, with Watkins then missing a golden chance to win it in stoppage time.
Gerrard also explained how Villa had given the club’s European Cup winning squad a pre-match guard of honour at his request.
The original plan had been for the heroes of 1982 to welcome both teams onto the pitch but Gerrard said: "I flipped that round. The plan was for us to get the guard of honour but I wasn't too happy with that. I think it was important for us to give them (the 1982 squad) the guard of honour.
“We wanted to get the win to really show our appreciation for what they have given to the club. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that.”
