Aston Villa attacker Ollie Watkins has been declared unfit to face Manchester City this week.
According to Sky Sports News, the England international has failed to regain fitness to face the Premier League champions.
The England international did not return for the second half of Villa’s 2–0 victory against local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Aston Villa striker is out with a hamstring injury
Villa manager Unai Emery stated post-match that Watkins experienced a hamstring issue.
“He was feeling something in his hamstring,” Emery said during the press conference, as quoted by Independent.
“At the beginning he was telling us that he could carry on playing. The doctor told us it was better to not play with risk. We decided to stop him. Tomorrow he will have a scan,” Emery confirmed after the match.
The Spaniard has now confirmed that the star striker will be out against Man City at the Etihad Stadium.
Along with Watkins, Emery confirmed that Jacob Ramsey will also be missing the match.
Speaking of Watkins and Ramsey, Emery said, as quoted by Birmingham Live:
“They will not be available for tomorrow. They have small injuries. Jacob Ramsey is not getting better like he wants. We are not in a hurry with him. For tomorrow he will not be available.
“With Ollie, it is more or less the same. Ollie’s injury is a small injury, with some days rest, maybe he could be available for the next match.”
Watkins leads the Premier League in direct goal involvements this season, with 16 goals and 10 assists in 30 games.
Aston Villa would be hoping his injury issue is not serious
He would definitely be much missed, especially with games against Lille and Arsenal coming up in the next two weeks.
Jhon Duran is the most likely replacement for the injured Watkins, who will miss the big match against Man City.
This season, the Colombian has played second fiddle to his striker counterpart, but he has performed admirably when called upon, despite frequently displaying his rawness.
Matty Cash remains out with a hamstring injury, while John McGinn will serve the final match of his three-game suspension against Manchester City.