Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has suffered a triple injury blow before their Premier League clash against Southampton on Friday night.
What’s the story?
The Athletic’s Gregg Evans confirmed that Villa will be missing the likes of Bertrand Traore, Danny Ings and Douglas Luiz for the trip to the south coast, with the Midlands club having tasted defeat in their past four top-flight games.
Ings already has three goals to his name in his embryonic Villa Park career and would surely have relished going back to his old stomping ground, while the scale of Luiz’s absence is reflected in him being the squad’s best performer so far in 2021/22 according to WhoScored metrics. Traore could also have packed a threat with his dribbling ability, completing a joint squad-high 1.8 per game, so to be deprived of the trio will come as a massive blow, especially given Villa’s recent struggles.
Dean Smith will be worried
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, Smith tried to play down the speculation suggesting that he was coming under increasing pressure.
He said: “I think the perception from outside of the football club is always different. If you’re asking me if I sleep well, yes, I sleep well. I still play well at golf. My wife is still talking to me so, if that answers your question, then yeah, I feel fine.
“There is no panic, we’re in control and determined to put things right. There has been a reaction from all the players because they are disappointed with the results. We are not far from turning it around and we are in a determined mood, that’s for sure. There is a collective responsibility and the players have been working hard.”Smith will be hoping that his positive outlook can inspire some much-needed confidence in his players after their recent decline, and while he may have put on a happy face for his press conference, the Villa boss will no doubt be worried about tonight’s game, not least due to the significant injuries with which he has had to contend.
Meanwhile, Villa must unleash this academy starlet tonight…