Exclusive: Ollie Watkins Injury Update Out of Aston Villa

Exclusive: Ollie Watkins Injury Update Out of Aston Villa

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins could still return for their Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, after being spotted with an ice pack on his ankle after his substitution in the Champions League on Tuesday – with GIVEMESPORT sources suggesting that he is set to ‘be looked at’ on Wednesday with a view to featuring over the weekend.

Watkins started in Villa’s 3-0 win over Swiss outfit Young Boys Bern in what was their first game at Europe’s top table in 42 years, and caused havoc with a clever assist for Jacob Ramsey – before having a goal of his own agonisingly ruled out for handball on the stroke of half-time. However, with Jhon Duran replacing him, the former Brentford man was spotted with an ice pack on his ankle whilst he watched on from the bench, leading to fears over his availability; though that has been quelled with his diagnosis set to be made clearer on Wednesday.

GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed that Villa are not too concerned with Watkins’ substitution against Young Boys on Tuesday night, despite Champions League cameras picking up that he had an ice pack held to his ankle after coming off for Duran in the second half of the game.

It was an ankle injury, per se, though it doesn’t seem severe at all and the icing was only precautionary. Watkins was watching from the bench after coming off, and if the injury was severe at all, he’d have been straight down the tunnel and into the dressing room for immediate treatment – and that can only be viewed as a positive as he roared his teammates on for a 3-0 win in Bern.

His ankle will be looked at further on Wednesday. However, the key is that sources state that Villa do not expect him to be sidelined for Saturday’s clash against Wolves in the Premier League, which would mean that they’ll have full strength in their striking ranks with both Watkins and Duran available for selection.

Whilst it has been Duran that has stolen all of Villa’s headlines this season with his substitute appearances clinching three wins for the west Midlands outfit in the Premier League – including last weekend’s howitzer against Everton – Watkins is their consistent attacker, and is growing in quality and self-belief with each passing month.

61 league goals in 151 appearances in the Premier League for Villa – with at least two of those seasons coming whilst they were under the managerial guidance of Dean Smith and Steven Gerrard – is a superb tally, and he has been rewarded for his strong form under Unai Emery with Champions League appearances and top-flight goals galore.

19 strikes in the Premier League last season saw only Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer and Alexander Isak finish ahead of him in the top goalscorer rankings, and with another two already this season, the England international is continuing to fire with ease. Whether Villa can qualify for the top four is another question, but they seem incredibly focused and only a loss to title-chasers Arsenal has stopped them from having a 100 per cent record in the league.