Douglas Luiz: Expert reveals when Aston Villa ace can return as ‘facial reconstruction’ confirmed
Douglas Luiz will need surgery to treat his facial injury – but Aston Villa could choose to delay the procedure until the international break.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Luiz, 23, was on the receiving end of a high-footed challenge from Manuel Lanzini in Villa’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham last Sunday (13 March).
The Brazilian midfielder played on until 10 minutes from time before Steven Gerrard took him off in favour of Emi Buendia.
Per Birmingham Live on Tuesday (15 March), Gerrard confirmed Luiz had suffered a “nasty gash in the mouth” and will need “facial reconstruction”.
Gerrard’s side are in action against Arsenal on Saturday (19 March) before a two-week pause for the international break.
Dinnery claims that Luiz could possibly feature against the Gunners if the club pushes back his surgery.
“He has had it stitched as it stands,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“If he does need surgery, it depends whether that surgery takes place quickly or is delayed until the international break.
“If the latter, they may feel he can get through the next game just being patched up.
“It’s a difficult one given that we don’t know the full extent of the problem. There are going to be risks associated with any type of operation.
“There are no guanrentees. There is no such thing as a ‘minor’ surgery. There are a lot of thungs that can go wrong.
“For Douglas Luiz, he will be wanting to be a part of that Arsenal game.
“He pushed on for a while during Sunday’s game. He’s a battler and he’s key to that midfield. Ultimately, the decision will be player-led.”
Luis has scored once and supplied three assists in 25 appearances this term.
Villa are 9th in the Premier League with 10 games left to play.
In other news, Kevin Phillips claims rumour has it” Ollie Watkins “could be leaving” Aston Villa.