Unai Emery hope after Pau Torres setback
Unai Emery is hopeful Pau Torres can return for Villa’s Premier League match at Everton later this month after the defender suffered a setback in his recovery from injury.
Torres has been ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie at Middlesbrough as he is still feeling the effects of an ankle injury sustained last month.
The Spain international came off the bench in Villa’s 3-2 win over Burnley last weekend but later complained of soreness and has not trained during the past week. Villa head to Everton on January 14.
Torres, who had missed two matches after picking up the injury in a 2-1 win at Brentford, was called into action for the final half-hour against Burnley when Clement Lenglet complained of feeling unwell.
“At the end of the match, Pau was feeling worse than before,” explained Emery.
“We decided to stop again and let him recover. For the next week, I think he is going to be available but not tomorrow.”
Midfielder Youri Tielemans also remains sidelined, along with left-back Lucas Digne and goalkeeper Robin Olsen. Boubacar Kamara is available again following suspension.
