Aston Villa boss Unai Emery gives update on Ezri Konsa fitness

Konsa suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend’s FA Cup win over Tottenham but Emery is confident the issue is not too serious.

The centre-back is, however, likely to miss multiple matches due to a fixture schedule the Villa boss yesterday branded “unfair” having taken umbrage at the Premier League’s decision to reschedule their match with Liverpool for next Wednesday.

Tyrone Mings is back available after recovering from a knee injury, while Ollie Watkins is also back in the squad for Saturday’s Premier League match with Ipswich.

But Pau Torres, Matty Cash, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley all remain sidelined with Konsa now added to the list.

Villa face five matches in 14 days after their FA Cup tie with Cardiff was scheduled for Friday, February 28.

Emery said: “We were planning three weeks [of no midweek games], but we are only going to have two. 

“Why? Because the schedule doesn’t make sense. We have to accept it and it is not fair for us. 

“We are going to play a lot of matches in a row in February and not many in March. 

“Because we are in the Champions League and FA Cup, we have matches to play, but only one in the Premier League in March. 

“It is not really fair for us. It is not our job. The responsibility is for the people who set the schedule. They need to be demanding and fair with their decisions.”