Medical expert: Marvelous Nakamba ‘at risk’ as exact Aston Villa comeback date revealed
Marvelous Nakamba will be wary of picking up muscular issues when he makes his Aston Villa comeback at the beginning of April.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Nakamba, 28, has missed Villa’s last 13 matches with a medial collateral knee ligament injury.
As quoted by Birmingham Live on 4 February, manager Steven Gerrard revealed that the midfielder was “three to four weeks” away from a return.
The same outlet reported today (14 March) that Zambia international has pencilled in the clash against Wolves on 2 April as his target.
Dinnery explained the slings and arrows Nakamba will face as he returns from his long-term layoff.
“With reinjury in terms of the MCL itself, that isn’t a major concern,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“He initially talked about a three to four-month recovery period. If Nakamba returns at the begining of April, that will be bang on schedule.
“Within that recovery and rehab programme, there will be a number of checkpoints. He will use those as a way to progress through that recovery.
“So, in terms of re-injury, this one has really good recovery rates. The backroom staff will be working very hard to mitigate any of those risks.
“But having said that, anyone who is returning from a long-term injury is at risk of the odd niggle or muscular problem, a slight tweak or strain.
“That’s an inherent risk because you’ve been out of the firing line for so long.
“When you come back into the Premier League, there is a period of time when you need to acclimatise.”
Nakamba was voted Villa’s Player of the Month before his injury in December last year.
He has made 14 appearances so far this season.
In other news, pundit suggests Aston Villa could beat “big six” to “superb” Kalvin Phillips deal after source’s £60m-plus news.