Hibs hero undergoes surgery and could miss two months of action as Aston Villa update provided
Villa boss Unai Emery has provided an injury update on the former Hibs man.
Hibs hero John McGinn could be out for ‘one or two months’ after suffering an injury for Aston Villa in their 1-0 defeat to Everton.
The Scotland International was substituted for winger Evann Guessand in the 18th minute with a knee injury. Having missed subsequent matches against Fenerbahce and Newcastle, Unai Emery has confirmed McGinn’s injury is as bad as first feared.
The 31-year old Villa skipper has been an integral part of their success this season, as they currently sit third in the Premier League on the same points as Manchester City and just four adrift of leaders Arsenal, however McGinn is now set to be sidelined for an important run of fixtures.
‘He is going to be out for some weeks’
Since the Everton defeat, Villa have coped fine without their captain, winning back-to-back away games. After their 2-0 victory at St James’ Park, Emery issued an update on McGinn’s injury timeline. He said: "Normally, he is going to be out for some weeks, maybe even one or two months. But I want to wait for the doctor's opinion on it”
Villa suffered further injury heartache in the North East, as playmaker Youri Tielemans went off with an ankle issue. With Boubacar Kamara also currently sidelined, the claret and blue side are in a midfield crisis at the worst time, in the middle of a title race. To make matters worse, they tried to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher during the window, however, Tottenham Hotspur beat them to the punch.
If Emery’s timeline is correct, McGinn won’t be available until they face Manchester United on March 14th, meaning he’d be missing for at least the next six Premier League fixtures, as well as an FA Cup clash with Newcastle and the first leg of their Europa League knockout. If there is a silver lining to all this, perhaps it’s for Scotland fans, as a nation momentarily held its breath when McGinn went down, but thankfully for them, he’ll be back in plenty time for the World Cup.
‘I’ll be back before you know it’ - McGinn makes light of lengthy sideline
Never one to take himself too seriously, McGinn himself issued an update today on social media, hopping on the 2016 trend in the process with a photo of him in a hospital bed in his younger days. His Instagram caption read: “Not doing one of they shocking pics like 2016, surgery went well and I’ll be back before you know it.”
The injury worry comes just two months after the former Hibs Scottish Cup winner signed a new contract at Villa Park, keeping him at the club until 2028. After signing his new deal, McGinn said he was grateful for the ‘loyalty and trust’ the club showed him.
He said: “I’m really grateful to the club for standing by that because it's hard to get that, loyalty and trust in football these days. This time it was really straightforward and I can’t thank everyone at the club enough for that. I love being here and love being on this journey. So, it was really straightforward, absolutely no problem.”