The England forward did not participate in the Europa Conference League victory over Legia Warsaw on Thursday night.
Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, is optimistic that Ollie Watkins will play this weekend against Bournemouth.
The England striker was unexpectedly missing from Villa’s impressive squad for their Europa Conference League match against Legia Warsaw on Thursday night. The hosts defeated their Polish opponents 2-1 in a hard-fought victory that moved them to the top of Group E with one game remaining. Moussa Diaby and the healthy Alex Moreno scored goals in the game.
But the game was tainted by “disgusting and highly dangerous scenes” outside Villa Park, when fans of Legia were denied access to the stadium and four police officers were hurt in altercations with 39 other individuals.
On Thursday night, Colombian forward Jhon Duran started alongside Diaby in attack, meaning Villa did not miss leading scorer Watkins at all.
To maintain his team’s incredible run of play, Emery will be eager to have the former Brentford frontman—who has scored twice as many goals as any other Villa player this season—back in the lineup for Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth.
After another thrilling 2-1 victory in north London last Saturday, Villa moved above Tottenham and into the top four. Watkins’ goal, his 12th of the year, completed an incredible comeback for Villa.
After the victory over Legia, Emery was questioned about his star striker’s absence and explained that his absence in Europe was due to both injury and the necessity for a break given the busy schedule.
