Boubacar Kamara’s injury lay off is a “huge blow” to Steven Gerrard and Aston Villa.
That is according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to This is Futbol about the latest news from Villa Park.
Kamara, who has been described as “talented” by Andrew Gibney, was forced off in Villa’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Southampton earlier this month, with the midfielder suffering a knee injury that is likely to keep him out of action for Gerrard’s side until after the World Cup break in November.
However, L’Equipe have reported (via BirminghamLive) that the 22-year-old could still make Didier Deschamps’ France squad for the World Cup, suggesting that the injury is not as serious as feared, and he should be match fit for the Premier League’s return on Boxing Day.
And O’Rourke believes that now is the time for the rest of the squad to step up, in Kamara’s absence over the next few months.
“Yeah, huge blow.
“Your two new signings [Kamara and Diego Carlos] facing lengthy spells on the sidelines is definitely not what Steven Gerrard wanted.
“He wanted both these players to come in and have a major impact in the side, and to be fair to Kamara, he was having an impact on the team.
“He had come in and slotted in quite seamlessly into the Villa midfield, so to lose him now for a period of time is a blow to Gerrard, especially in Villa’s current predicament where they’ve had a slow start to season.
“Gerrard will want his best players available, so to lose Kamara right now is a blow, but it will be up to other players in the squad to step up and prove that they can cope without Kamara in the meantime.”
TIF Thoughts on O’Rourke’s comments
We believe that Villa’s squad have got no choice but to step up in Kamara’s absence, otherwise they could find themselves in a precarious position come the November break for the World Cup.
However, the club did make the £13m signing of Leander Dendoncker from West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on deadline day, with the Belgium international likely to be the man to slot seamlessly into the side’s midfield.
Therefore, whilst we think that Kamara’s absence will be a big loss to Gerrard’s side, we think that they have more than adequate cover for his lay-off not to be a huge hindrance to the side.