Emery Cool on Watkins
Unai Emery has played down immediate fears over Ollie Watkins after the striker’s early withdrawal in Aston Villa’s 3–2 comeback win in the Europa League at Villa Park against RB Salzburg, describing the issue as fatigue-related rather than a clear injury.
Watkins was replaced after 35 minutes against Salzburg, prompting concern given his importance to Villa’s attacking structure. However, speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Brentford, Emery struck a deliberately calm tone.
“Ruled out are Kamara, McGinn, Tielemans, Andres (Garcia) and Alysson,” Emery confirmed. “Watkins, we will see tomorrow. Today he had a scan, and it’s not a clear injury.
“He was tired yesterday and the scan is not giving us bad information.
“We will see tomorrow if he’s not feeling comfortable or if he’s feeling comfortable to decide to be with us on Sunday.”
The language was telling – “not giving us bad information”. Rather than framing Watkins’ withdrawal as damage-related, Emery leaned heavily on load and recovery, suggesting the decision in Salzburg was precautionary. That aligns with how Villa have managed key players this season, particularly during periods of fixture congestion.
Publicly at least, Watkins’ availability will ultimately be determined late, but there was no indication of a setback that would automatically rule him out of the Brentford match.
Elsewhere, the injury list remains sizeable in terms of key personnel. The continued absence of Kamara, McGinn and Tielemans leaves Villa light in central midfield, while Andres Garcia and Alysson also remain unavailable.
Ross Return?
One notable positive, however, is the return of Ross Barkley to full training.
“Ross Barkley is coming back, training with us,” Emery said. “Today, normal training with the group, and maybe we can include him in the squad.”
Barkley’s availability would add experience and control at a time when Villa are stretched in midfield. While it remains to be seen whether he is ready to start, his reintegration into full sessions gives Emery another timely option as Villa look to manage minutes carefully.
Emery also used the press conference to underline why squad depth, and adaptability, are non-negotiable over a long season.
“This is the reason why we are normally 22, 23, 24 players in the squad with the young players,” he said.
“During the season, you must be ready when someone is getting injured – hopefully not for a long time because a long injury is the worst thing for the players.
“We must compete, we must be ready, and we must get our performance like we need in each moment with the players we have.”
That sentiment was already borne out against Salzburg. Watkins’ early exit forced an unplanned reshuffle, but Villa adjusted, stayed competitive, and found a way to win. It was another example of a squad learning how to absorb disruption without losing its structure or belief.
While Watkins is expected to be in the squad for the Brentford game, Emery’s comments suggest caution rather than concern. The signing of Tammy Abraham certainly takes the sting out of any worst case scernario.
UTV
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