Unai Emery relayed the disappointing news during his pre-Brighton press duties, that Aston Villa left-back Alex Moreno will have to undergo surgery on his hamstring injury.
Moreno came off the bench to replace Lucas Digne at Anfield during the 1-1 draw with Liverpool last weekend. However, he lasted just over 10 minutes before being forced off due to his injury. The severity of the injury was evident at the time, making it unlikely for him to recover in time for the season finale at Villa Park against Brighton. The news of the Spaniard requiring surgery is certainly an additional blow.
Since Emery took over at Villa, Moreno has played a central role in the club’s turnaround of fortunes, providing a constant and dynamic threat on the left-hand side. He has undeniably been one of Villa’s best players under Emery.
His move from Real Betis for approximately £13m, considering today’s market, has been widely praised as excellent business.
While it is too early to call a specific timeline that Moreno will spend sidelined, it certainly looks like Moreno will miss some of Villa’s pre-season. They’ll certainly be a doubt over Villa’s stateside trip for the Premier League Summer Series, but the club will be hopeful of having him ready for the start of the new Premier League season on the weekend of the 6th August 2023.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s better for such an injury to happen when it did, rather than mid-season, when he’d miss a big chunk of game time.
UTV
