Aston Villa have been dealt a huge blow in their battle against relegation.
Wesley and Tom Heaton have both been ruled out for the rest of the season after suffering knee ligament damage in their 2-1 win at Burnley on New Year’s Day.
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Both players were stretchered off in the second half as Villa’s big win at Turf Moor came at a huge cost as both will now be out for between six and nine months.
“They are two key players who I feel very sorry for,” Smith said. “We’ve had five games in 16 days and another seven to come in January. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves; we have to deal with it, help the players in their recovery and go and recruit wisely.”
Wesley scored his first Premier League goal in almost three months in the win at Burnley and he is the focal point of Villa’s attack, while Heaton is their starting goalkeeper. These injuries mean Villa will have to dip into the market in January to find replacements, probably on loan.
Both players arrived at Villa in the summer and have been influential so far with Heaton making several fine stops after starting 20 of Villa’s 21 PL games so far. Back up goalkeeper Jed Steer is currently out injured too with inexperienced duo Orjan Nyland and Lovre Kalinic waiting in the wings.
Wesley has started every PL game up top for Villa but has struggled to get going in the PL after the Brazilian striker arrived from Club Brugge as he’s scored five goals so far. It has been reported that Villa want to sign Michy Batshuayi on loan for the rest of the season to replace Wesley.
With star midfielder John McGinn out for three months due to a fractured ankle it has been a horrible festive period for Villa in terms of injuries as their relegation battle just got that much tougher.
Dean Smith will now be a very busy many in the January transfer window.