Aston Villa have received an injury boost ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham, with Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, Amadou Onana and Jaden Philogene all being passed fit.
Konsa suffered a hamstring injury during the 0-0 draw with Manchester United which ruled him out of England’s Nations League fixtures against Greece and Finland while McGinn suffered a similar injury against Wolves in September.
Onana came off in the 1-0 win over Bayern Munich and missed the Manchester United game, while Philogene picked up a knock while on England Under-21 duty.
All four are back in training and in contention for the trip to Fulham.
“McGinn has trained this week normally with us and he’s feeling good,” boss Unai Emery said at his pre-match press conference.
“Konsa as well, he’s feeling good. Jaden, he’s feeling good.
“I think it’s the first time this year, we are, more or less, with every player available to play.”
Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are available after both have been sidelined with ACL injuries.
Mings has not played since August 2023 while Kamara has been out since February but the pair are back in full training and could play a part at Craven Cottage.
The Spaniard said: “Progressively, they are getting better, of course.
“Kamara and Mings, for this match, they are available, and they are going to try with us for Fulham.
“When we can add players like Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia, Jaden Philogene and Ross Barkley in the squad and we are training everybody to understand our style, we are stronger.
“This is the message. To keep the same level we achieved last year is the challenge we have. We started the season being strong in the Champions League, even better than in the Premier League.
“The last two matches we drew and that is my concern about how we can improve, even being in a good position.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here