Aston Villa hit by Ross Barkley injury blow
Villa will be without Ross Barkley for a key week of matches after the midfielder suffered an injury.
The 30-year-old will miss Premier League fixtures at Tottenham and Liverpool and the midweek Champions League trip to Club Brugge with what manager Unai Emery described as a “small injury”.
Barkley had scored his first goal since rejoining Villa on a permanent deal from Luton in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.
Though the 30-year-old has made only one league start this season, he has made regular appearances off the bench.
Villa head to Tottenham on Sunday fourth in the table, five points ahead of the hosts with Emery urging his players to take it one match at a time.
“With my experiences, when I am thinking too much for the next match I am wrong,” he said. “Now my focus, with these experiences too, is to only prepare the next match, only thinking 100 per cent on it.
“It is not about rotation, or which players are better to play for the match we are going to play against Tottenham.
“Even playing a match like we will play, we have one more training session left and an injury can happen or if a player is sick. For me, the focus has to be on Tottenham.”
