Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa is facing a lengthy layoff after suffering a serious knee injury during the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
The defender could now be ruled out for as long as 16 weeks, meaning he is out for the rest of this season and will also miss the start of next season. Konsa has played in 29 of Villa’s 36 Premier League games this term, scoring twice and helping to keep eight clean sheets, with his performances linking him with an England call-up earlier in the campaign.
The news will come as a blow to Liverpool, too, who are relying on Villa to do them a favour against Manchester City on the final day of the Premier League season this Sunday. Pep Guardiola’s City side are currently leading the Reds by a point in the title race as they hunt down a fourth domestic championship in the space of five seasons.
For City, a win over Villa at the Etihad Stadium would secure a sixth ever Premier League crown for them, with Jurgen Klopp’s side praying for some help from one of their most beloved sons, Steven Gerrard.
The former midfielder, who captained the Reds and played 710 times for them between 1998 and 2015, will be keen to end Villa’s season on a high to simultaneously give Liverpool any hope of winning the league title on Sunday.
A massive blow to Villa’s cause will be the loss of defender Konsa, who has been a key player for his side this season. Unlike most of the Premier League, Villa are one of six teams in action on Thursday with two games left this season. They take on relegation-threatened Burnley on Thursday night, with a win for Gerrard’s side putting Burnley at serious risk of getting relegated.
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For that match, Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is a potential doubt with a “small issue” but speaking ahead of the game, Gerrard was hopeful that the Argentinian would be available to face the Clarets.
While Villa could yet have a major hand in how things pan out at either end of the table, Gerrard insisted his focus was purely on how his team perform, and not on the fortunes of other clubs.
“No they are not,” Gerrard said when asked if the games with Burnley and City are more important for their opponents than they are for Villa. “Maybe that is true from their point of view but I’m not involved in a relegation battle or a title race, I’m the Aston Villa manager and these are both games in which we can take three important points.
“We will have a full house and we have 20,000 fans on a waiting list to watch us. It is my responsibility to win both games.” Villa currently sit 14 th in the Premier League table going into their last two games of the campaign. Wins in both would take them up to 50 points and put them in the mix for a top half finish.
