Ben Dinnery

Thu 17 March 2022 7:50, UK

Lucas Digne’s playing style means Aston Villa will have “massive concerns” about aggravating his injury by bringing him back too early.

That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.

Digne, 28, has missed just one match since signing for Villa from Everton in January, and that was due to a positive Covid test.

But a thigh injury caused the Frenchman to break down 10 minutes into the 2-1 defeat to West Ham last Sunday (13 March).

Per the Express and Star the next day, Steven Gerrard revealed that the left-back will undergo an MRI scan to establish the extent of the issue.

Villa host Arsenal on Saturday (19 March).

Dinnery claims that it is not totally out of the question that Digne could feature, but it would be unwise to risk him.

“The worry with hamstring problems is the quick turnaround,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.

“Initial reports suggest it was a fairly minor issue. It’s impossible to categorically rule him out for this weekend.

“But even if it is just a little bit of tightness, you look at his player profile and see he is an explosive player.

“He covers a lot of yards, completes a lot of high-intensity sprints with minimal recovery time.

“These are massive concerns with the risk of picking up muscle problems. So, this is one where you need to be 100 per cent certain.

“You’d hope he could recover for Saturday but I would say he is a major doubt.

“The sensible decision would be to miss the Arsenal game. They have Ashley Young there who can do a job there.”

Digne has supplied one goal and one assist across 23 appearances this season.

Villa are 9th in the Premier League going into Saturday’s meeting with the Gunners.

In other news, Kevin Phillips claims “rumour has it” Ollie Watkins “could be leaving” Aston Villa.