Aston Villa star Johan Manzambi’s involvement with Switzerland for this ongoing international break remains doubtful after suffering a setback in the Premier League side’s 4-4 draw against Manchester United.
The 21-year-old joined Aston Villa from SC Freiburg for a reported fee of €60m in July. A knee injury saw him wait until September to make his debut.
On Sunday, the attacking midfielder made his sixth league start, against the Red Devils at Old Trafford. He didn’t score or assist, and João Gomes replaced him in the 78th minute.
What happened to Aston Villa star
In the 72nd minute, the Switzerland international went down after a tackle from Manchester United centre-back Leny Yoro. Referee Chris Kavanagh didn’t book the Frenchman.
Johan Manzambi appeared to be in pain, and six minutes later, Unai Emery took him off.
Last month, Switzerland manager Murat Yakin had asked officials to provide more protection to the Aston Villa star.
He said: “It’s part of Johan’s style of play to draw fouls with his dribbling. It’s these skills that thrill the fans. They [referees] have to protect the players. Even if one or two actions looked very dangerous, the referee [against Slovenia, Ivan Kruzliak] saw it correctly.”
Yakin has included him in the squad for the two UEFA Nations League matches against Slovenia and Scotland. There are doubts about Johan Manzambi’s involvement for these two fixtures and Blick now covers the latest.
Worry for Aston Villa
The newspaper are critical of referee Chris Kavanagh for not booking Leny Yoro for his ‘brutal tackle’.
This has led to ‘great concern’ over Johan Manzambi’s case, ‘specifically whether he will be able to join the national team on Monday or even miss both matches.’
For now, Blick states the official diagnosis is still pending. The Aston Villa summer signing will undergo tests to find out more about his injury. This is also a concern for the Europa League winners, who will keep a close watch on how this case develops.
Both Unai Emery and the Villans can only hope Manzambi’s setback isn’t serious and he’s fit to face Sunderland on November 21st.
