Jadon Sancho suffered a shoulder injury in Aston Villa’s friendly against Elche, and he will now miss out on his side’s biggest match of the season- the Thursday trip to Bologna for the first leg of the two sides’ Europa League quarterfinal tie. While he isn’t a hugely important part of manager Unai Emery’s plans, it still hurts to lose a player to injury from a friendly.
After all, the whole point of a friendly is just to stay healthy while keeping the guys fresh during a long layoff. Besides you never know if/when Sancho might contribute something major, as he did have a key goal for Borussia Dortmund during their deep Champions League run a couple years ago.
UEFA Europa League Quarter-final Leg 1 of 2
Aston Villa at Bologna FC 1909
Kickoff: Thurs, Apr 9, 8pm, Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna, Italy
Aston Villa Team News
Jadon Sancho could be back for the second leg, we’ll just have to wait and see. The Manchester United loanee’s ultimate club future beyond May remains uncertain of course. The only other team news item here is Ross Barkley, who is ineligible to feature due to his having not been registered for this round. And of course, Boubacar Kamara remains sidelined for the season with a knee injury.
Aston Villa Predicted Starting XI
Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne; Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans; John McGinn, Emi Buendia, Morgan Rogers; Ollie Watkins
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.