Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has been dealt an injury blow as news emerges about one of his key players.
Unai Emery sparks mini Aston Villa revival after disastrous start to 25/26
Villa have started to show signs of life after a rocky start to the new Premier League season, sparking a mini-revival that has renewed some hope among fans.
The Villans really struggled early on, especially going forward, and it took them five league matches to even score their first league goal of the campaign.
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Aston Villa’s results in the Premier League so far this season |
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Aston Villa 0-0 Newcastle |
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Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa |
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Aston Villa 0-3 Crystal Palace |
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Everton 0-0 Aston Villa |
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Sunderland 1-1 Aston Villa |
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Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham |
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Aston Villa 2-1 Burnley |
A huge sigh of relief swept through the away end at Sunderland when Matty Cash’s long-range drive ended Villa’s unbelievable goal drought, and they were unfortunate not to come away from the North East with their first three points of 2025/2026.
Once languishing near the bottom of the table, Villa have gone on a resurgence since Cash’s strike — winning their last four matches in all competitions — including back-to-back Europa League wins and two consecutive league victories.
NSWE struggled to build upon last season in the transfer window, with failure to qualify for the Champions League at the end of 24/25 certainly coming back to haunt them in this regard.
PSR has undoubtedly held Emery’s side back from fully investing in the squad, with Villa only able to spend around £26.5 million in total last summer as they agreed last-gasp loan deals for Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho in an effort to bolster the team.
Taking this into account, Villa’s renewed form under Emery could be seen as even more impressive as some of their rivals enjoyed mammoth spending sprees.
Emery has also had to cope without some key men through injury, especially Belgium international Youri Tielemans.
The former Leicester City star was a mainstay under Emery last term, registering 15 goal contributions in 53 total appearances, but he’s been forced to sit out of Villa’s excellent recent run with a calf problem.
Tielemans has watched on from the sidelines ever since their 1-1 draw at Sunderland, and according to reports from Belgium, the 28-year-old will now be out for a much while longer.
Unai Emery dealt Aston Villa injury blow as news emerges on Youri Tielemans
Het Nieuwsblad and La Dernière Heure, via Sport Witness, both state that Tielemans is now expected to be absent for longer than expected.
The £150,000-per-week playmaker could even miss Belgium’s November World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan, meaning Tielemans could also be unavailable for all of Villa’s next games after this October break.
The games Youri Tielemans is now expected to miss for Aston Villa
Emery’s side take on Tottenham, Go Ahead Eagles, Man City, Liverpool, Maccabi Tel Aviv and high-flying Bournemouth before the next round of internationals in November, with Tielemans now poised to potentially miss all of these crucial matches against top opposition.
The 28-year-old’s setback is undoubtedly a blow for Emery.
As a key influence, Tielemans brings creativity, control and experience to the heart of the team’s midfield. His ability to dictate tempo, link defense to attack and contribute with crucial goals and assists makes him central to the way Villa operate.
Even if Emery has coped fine without Tielemans in Villa’s last few games, with his last appearance coming in their 0-0 draw at Everton, he’ll be sorely missed when Villa face off against Spurs, City and Premier League champions Liverpool.
