This is worst injury crisis I have ever seen — Emery
UNAI EMERY is wrestling with the worst injury crisis of his career as he tries to correct Aston Villa’s recent wobble without several key players. Villa have lost Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara to anterior cruciate knee ligament (ACL) injuries this term, while Jacob Ramsey, Alex Moreno, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne, Jhon Duran and now Diego Carlos have all spent time on the sidelines. Kamara sustained his injury in last weekend’s home defeat by Manchester United and will undergo surgery in Lyon next week. Emery did not use the casualty list as an excuse but admitted it was unprecedented in his 20 years in coaching. ‘I can never remember a time like this,’ he said. ‘It’s not an excuse. When injuries happen, I always accept it, but of course this is the worst. We are human and of course we are going to support the players, particularly with ACL injuries. ‘It’s the worst moment for them and their families. Every day it’s good for us to meet Tyrone, Emiliano and now Kamara. They are not available but the message is always that they will come back stronger than before. ‘I’ve never had this situation before as a coach. I know Real Madrid have had the same situation with ACL injuries (David Alaba, Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois all suffered the injury). ‘Maybe with some types of injuries, like hamstrings, there is work you can do in terms of prevention, but knee injuries are different. ‘These are not a consequence of our work. Tyrone was injured at Newcastle, Emiliano here at the training ground and Kamara at Villa Park.’