Aston Villa "hopeful" over Ezri Konsa injury after 2-1 win against Tottenham in FA Cup
Aston Villa are hoping for positive news as their defensive crisis worsened in the FA Cup win over Tottenham.
Villa piled further pressure onto Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou with a 2-1 win in the FA Cup fourth round yesterday (February 9) that dumped the London squad out of a second domestic competition in the space of a week.
But Unai Emery’s side will now have to contend with the loss of defender Ezri Konsa; the England international limped off during the first half after pulling up during a Spurs attack at Villa Park.
While much has been made of Tottenham’s injury crisis, Villa are also suffering and Konsa’s exit left them without a fit centre-back as midfielders Boubacar Kamara and Lamare Bogarde filled in. Deadline-day signing Axel Disasi was cup-tied so will be available for Saturday’s game with Ipswich while they wait for the severity of Konsa’s injury to be determined.
“We weren’t thinking to be playing against Tottenham with Bogarde and Kamara,” boss Unai Emery said. “Both are more central midfielders than centre-backs. Hopefully we can recover quickly Pau Torres, Tyrone Mings, as well Axel Disasi, for next week if everything goes well.
“For Konsa, hopefully it is not a big injury.”
Despite their lack of numbers at the back, Villa were too good for Spurs and the 2-1 scoreline flattered the visitors. Villa booked a spot in the fifth round of the cup for the first time since 2014/15 and will be eyeing a deep run after a round where Liverpool and Chelsea exited.
Emery knows it will still be very hard to get his hands on some silverware.
“I know how much this competition means for the club and the fans,” he said. “We have won it seven times and it is always in our mind. It is a way for a trophy. We are here trying to compete and get prestige.
“This competition is very important in this direction. It was the first objective we had today - respecting the competition and competing.
“But watching some matches - Birmingham-Newcastle, Brighton as well against Chelsea, today Liverpool, yesterday how Manchester City struggled - wow it’s very, very difficult.
“We have to only focus on the fifth round, accept the draw and try to compete.”