Ezri Konsa is out injured for ‘three or four weeks’ and will miss ’s big clashes against and .
confirmed the news in his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday night’s FA Cup fourth-round replay against Chelsea.
Following that, Villa host United in the Premier League on Sunday with a win required to keep their unlikely title aspirations alive.
But they will be without key defender Konsa for both, after the 26-year-old hobbled off after colliding with the post during the Villans’ 5-0 win at Sheffield United last Saturday.
Though his injury is not as bad as first feared, Emery revealed he may be sidelined till next month as he gave an update on his side: ‘Ezri is injured.
‘He has a knee sprain and is not going to be available. I don’t know, three or four weeks more or less.
‘Lucas Digne is progressing very well but he is not available tomorrow. Pau Torres has started training with the group and he is going to be on the bench tomorrow. But Jhon Durán is still injured.’
Konsa has played in all but one of Aston Villa’s 34 games this season, with the centre-back in contention to make England’s Euro 2024 squad.
If his manager is correct, he’ll also miss games against Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Luton, as well as the FA Cup fifth-round if they make it that far, but he may well be fit in time to play Tottenham on March 10th.
Since the goalless draw at Stamford Bridge last month, the Blues have been on the end of embarrassing defeats to Liverpool and Wolves, but Emery says he is still expecting ‘the best Chelsea’ to turn up to Villa Park:
‘We drew there but we struggled in the first half a lot, they were better than us. Progressively in the second half we were imposing our ideas, our gameplan, and we had chances as well to score and to win.
‘But we didn’t deserve it. And they deserved more in the first half, it was a fantastic job by Emi MartÃnez, and defensively as well the team worked very well.
‘Tomorrow, I expect the best Chelsea because they got to the Carabao Cup final. For them, this competition is very important as well because they are not in Europe.
‘And they have a very good coach. They’re improving a lot, they lost the last two matches against Liverpool and Wolverhampton. Wolverhampton played very well, very competitive, every match is very difficult in the Premier League.
‘But tomorrow, my expectation of them is the best performances, individually and collectively, and they’re going to be very focused, because for them it’s very important. We will respect them a lot and prepare for the match as much as possible.’
, . ,  and .
Chelsea news, exclusives and analysis
