A big injury claim has emerged regarding Aston Villa centre-back Diego Carlos as he recovers from his knock…
What’s the latest?
Injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries website, has revealed that the Brazilian defender is on course to make his comeback before the end of the month, having ruptured his Achilles tendon last August and been sidelined ever since.
He told Football Insider: “Diego Carlos is progressing really well. He’s not with the group as it stands, but he is training outside and working individually. He’s coming through those protocols and making brilliant progress.
“An Achilles rupture is high on the list of injuries that will keep a player sidelined for a long time, and so Aston Villa are in dreamland after finding out he might be able to make a return to play before the end of the season.
“With things ahead of schedule at the moment, we’re certainly looking at game time towards the back end of February.”
Big boost for Villa
This claim from Dinnery will come as a big boost to Unai Emery, as having Carlos back and available for action before the end of the month could improve Villa’s options at the back.
The defender arrived from Spanish outfit Sevilla last summer and was only able to feature in two matches in the Premier League before suffering his injury, which means that supporters have not been able to see the best of the enforcer as of yet.
It also means that the Villa boss is yet to work with the centre-back on the training pitch, having only taken over from Steven Gerrard in October, and the former Arsenal coach will surely be looking forward to finally getting to utilise the 29-year-old’s quality on the pitch this month.
In LaLiga last season, Carlos averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.09 across 34 matches for Sevilla as he made 1.7 tackles and interceptions per match and won 62% of his individual duels.
This season, Tyrone Mings has averaged a Sofascore ratingof 6.85 in 18 Premier League appearances and has made 2.1 tackles and interceptions per outing whilst winning 59% of his battles.
These statistics indicate that the Brazilian has the potential to be an upgrade on the England international, as his general performance level for Sevilla was impressively high and he was slightly more efficient with the defensive work that he did carry out in comparison to Mings.
A Sofascore rating of 7.09 would place him top of the current Villa squad, ahead of Douglas Luiz’s 7.03. This highlights why getting Carlos back fit and firing this month would be a huge boost for Emery, as the 29-year-old has the scope to become one of the team’s top players.