Both Aston Villa left-back Lucas Digne and striker Danny Ings are expected to be fine after the former was withdrawn early in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat away at Wolves whilst the latter missed the game.
What’s the story?
Villa boss Steven Gerrard confirmed to the press after his side’s defeat that Digne was withdrawn because the Frenchman was dealing with a stomach issue but is expected to be in contention for next week’s game against Tottenham Hotspur.
The 28-year-old managed just 13 minutes at Molineux and had only recently returned from a hamstring injury that saw the Frenchman play just ten minutes against West Ham and miss the home defeat to Arsenal prior to the international break.
As for Ings, the 29-year-old became a father for the first time and had had little sleep, with Gerrard preventing the Englishman from playing.
Supporters will be buzzing
Having paid Premier League rivals Everton a reported fee of £25m for Digne’s services in January, there’s no doubt that the Frenchman is Gerrard’s first-choice left-back by some margin and thus, news that his issue is not long-term will leave the fanbase elated.
Initial first-choice Matt Targett subsequently joined Newcastle United on loan for the remainder of the season, making 36-year-old Ashley Young the only other option on the left-hand side of the defence.
Moreover, the veteran scored an own goal against Wolves on Saturday after replacing the Frenchman and is yet to sign a contract extension with his current deal set to expire this summer. Digne’s position is incredibly settled.
Therefore, any more absences from the winter signing could prove detrimental to Villa’s plans for the remainder of the season as the West Midland’s outfit targets their first top-half finish in the top-flight since the 2010/11 season.
According to SofaScore, the 28-year-old has averaged a rating of 6.91 in the Premier League this season whilst also making 1.7 tackles per game as well as 1.1 interceptions and 1.9 clearances.
Moreover, Digne wins over half of his duels with a 54% success rate as well as completing over a third of dribbles at 38%. However, his passing could be improved with the left-back’s current accuracy at 76%.
The France international has also kept three clean sheets in nine appearances for the Villans as well as registering an assist against his former employers Everton.
As for Ings, the striker was also subject to a £25m fee when bought from Southampton last summer, however, his start to life in the West Midlands hasn’t gone exactly to plan.
Having scored 13 goals last term and 25 the season before, the Villa forward has just five goals this term in claret and blue.
Since taking over from Dean Smith at Villa Park, one of the biggest puzzles Gerrard has tried to solve has been trying to find a system that compliments the strengths of both Ollie Watkins and Ings, with the former scoring his eighth club goal of the season against Wolves as well as netting for England on Tuesday.
Naturally, the English manager will want as many of his players available for the run-in and knowing that both Digne and Ings will be okay will be a relief to all those associated with Aston Villa.
In other news: Forget Young: “Stupid” Aston Villa dud who lost 71% duels was a liability v Wolves