Aston Villa opponents hit by another major injury blow
Villa’s next opponents Tottenham have been dealt a major injury blow after forward Dejan Kulusevski was ruled out for the rest of the season.
The Sweden international has undergone surgery on an injury to his patella sustained in last Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Kulusevski is the latest Spurs player to be lost for the campaign in recent weeks with midfielders James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall already sidelined.
It is another major setback for boss Ange Postecoglou, ahead of next week’s Europa League final with Manchester United.
That match is preceded by a trip to Villa Park this Friday, a fixture which has huge ramifications for the home side in their bid to claim a top five Premier League finish and again qualify for the Champions League.
Villa, who sit sixth in the table, would be guaranteed to jump above Manchester City in the table with a win. Chelsea, who sit level on points with Unai Emery’s team in the table but have a superior goal difference, are also in action on Friday night hosting Manchester United.
The Spurs fixture was controversially brought forward 48 hours at just 10 days notice from its original May 18 date, to enable the visiting team more time to prepare for their European final.
Postecoglou, whose team have won just one of their last 10 league matches and are languishing down in 17th position, joked earlier this week he would be wrapping his players in “cotton wool” ahead of the final, such has been the bad luck with injuries.
Kulusevski has been among their most productive players this season, scoring 10 goals and registering 11 assists.
Villa head into the match having won eight of their last 10 league matches, including the last four in a row at home.
