Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has explained why Amadou Onana didn’t play against Brentford
Aston Villa’s Amadou Onana(Image: Raddad Jebarah/Shutterstock)
Unai Emery confirmed that Amadou Onana didn’t come off the bench against Brentford because he wasn’t fully fit.
The Belgian midfielder was suffering from muscle fatigue following Villa’s win over RB Salzburg on Thursday.
Onana had played 78 minutes in Villa’s comeback victory against the Austrian Bundesliga side midweek.
He was a surprise omission from the starting XI against Brentford on Sunday, with Lamare Bogarde partnering Douglas Luiz in the double pivot instead.
In his post-match press conference, Emery confirmed that Onana wasn’t feeling fully fit to play.
“He was not feeling completely fit after the match on Thursday. He had a tired muscle,” the Villa boss said.
Villa were also without Ollie Watkins against Brentford after he suffered a hamstring issue in the midweek game against Salzburg.
Bournemouth will entertain Villa next weekend, before Emery’s side host Brighton and Leeds either side of a home FA Cup clash against Newcastle United.
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