Aston Villa's perfect Champions League start has come at a price. Unai Emery confirmed on Tuesday that Aaron Wan-Bissaka will be out for three to four weeks with a hamstring injury, while Johan Manzambi — the man in the form of his life — will also miss Wednesday's visit of Viking FK to Villa Park.
Both players were hurt in Saturday's 1-0 Premier League win at Newcastle United, a game Manzambi settled with a first-half goal. What looked like a statement away victory has instead left Emery reshuffling his side for a European night Villa were hoping to enjoy.
"Manzambi has a small injury, he's not available for tomorrow," Emery told his pre-match press conference, as reported by Reuters. "Aaron has an injury as well, more or less we expect three or four weeks."
The form player Villa can least afford to lose
Manzambi's absence, even for one night, is a cruel twist. The Switzerland international has three goals and two assists in his last four games for Villa, and his winner at St James' Park continued a breakout run that has made him one of the stories of Villa's season.
Wan-Bissaka's loss cuts deeper into the squad. The DR Congo right-back, on loan from West Ham United, has been a regular starter since arriving at Villa Park, and a three-to-four-week hamstring absence removes Emery's most natural one-v-one defender for the busiest stretch of the autumn.
As Sports Mole detailed, the pair join a treatment room that is already crowded: Matteo Ruggeri is out for around two months, while Amadou Onana remains a long-term absentee. There was at least some relief in Emery's update — Ian Maatsen has returned to training this week, and youngster George Hemmings is back in contention.
No excuses, insists Emery
Emery, to his credit, refused to reach for the injury list as a shield. "We have enough players, no excuses, and tomorrow we'll find solutions, collectively and individually in each position," he said.
The numbers back his confidence, up to a point. Villa, the Europa League title holders, have won both of their Champions League games so far in this season's league phase. Viking, by contrast, arrive with a loss and a draw — although the Norwegians have already shown they can bloody a giant's nose, having held Bayern Munich, whose own week has been clouded by the Kompany fitness doubt ahead of facing Arsenal.
So what: a squad test at the worst moment
This is where Villa's season gets serious. A win over Viking would make it three from three in Europe and put Emery's side in a commanding position in the league phase — but Wan-Bissaka's month on the sidelines will stretch across domestic and European fixtures alike, testing a defence that has little margin behind its first choices.
The bigger question is whether Villa's squad depth, praised all season, survives contact with a real injury crisis. Ruggeri out for two months, Onana out long term, Wan-Bissaka out for a month and Manzambi sidelined, however briefly — that is four pieces of Emery's rotation gone at once. Wednesday night will show whether the solutions he promised are real.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: Emery is right to refuse the excuses, but make no mistake — this is a genuine blow, not a footnote. Wan-Bissaka was signed on loan precisely for nights like this, and losing him alongside the red-hot Manzambi turns a game Villa should control into a test of everything beneath the first XI. Win comfortably and the crisis talk dies; struggle, and the treatment room becomes the story of Villa's autumn. How big a miss will Wan-Bissaka be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
