Aston Villa hoping Luca Digne will return in mid October
Villa are hopeful Lucas Digne could return from his ankle injury by the middle of next month.
The France international is expected to be sidelined for between two to three weeks with the issue, which forced him to withdraw from international duty with France.
Digne is certain to miss this Sunday’s trip to Leeds and likely Villa’s match away at Nottingham Forest on October 10 but could return for the home fixture against Chelsea the following weekend.
It was initially feared the 29-year-old might be facing an extended period out after initial scans revealed a possible stress fracture but further tests have left Digne, who has a history of recovering from injury quickly, confident of making a swift return.
The £25million January signing from Everton was the only outfield player to have featured in every minute of Villa’s Premier League season and his absence is one of several headaches facing boss Steven Gerrard, who is likely to be without Boubacar Kamara until after the World Cup as the midfielder recovers from a knee ligament injury sustained in the 1-0 win over Southampton.
Douglas Luiz is favourite to replace him in the starting XI at Elland Road though Marvelous Nakamba and Morgan Sanson, two players yet to feature this season, are likely to come back in contention for an important run of fixtures as Villa look to climb the Premier League table.
Gerrard hopes Matty Cash will be available after recovering from a hamstring injury, which would allow Ashley Young to move to left-back in place of the absent Digne. If not, Ludwig Augustinsson could make his first appearance since joining on loan from Sevilla.
