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Aston Villa academy star closes in on return after almost 12 months of injury hell

Aaron Ramsey of Burnley
-Credit:Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images


Aston Villa academy product Aaron Ramsey is edging closer to a return to action for Burnley - almost a whole year on from his last competitive appearance for the Clarets. Ramsey, brother of Villa midfielder Jacob, left the club for Turf Moor on a permanent basis in the summer of 2023 following their promotion to the top flight.

That came as a result of his string of excellent performances while on loan at Norwich City in the first half and then, under Michael Carrick, at Middlesbrough alongside Villa teammate Cameron Archer in the second half of the 2022-23 season. Ramsey left Villa for a fee north of £12m.

His first sample of regular Premier League football in a Burnley shirt was against Villa, a fixture which proved to be an indicator of the difficulties the Clarets were to face in the top flight under Vincent Kompany, but Ramsey wasn't able to help their cause beyond February after suffering a serious knee injury in a meeting with Arsenal.

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Burnley were ultimately relegated and are now under the management of Scott Parker, who has led them into automatic promotion contention at the halfway stage of the season, but Ramsey has had to watch his teammates in action while undergoing his own rehabilitation process. He returned to the grass in September, but the club are optimistic that he'll be returning to action early in 2025.

It will put paid to a deeply frustrating 12 months, in which Ramsey - who is still only 21 - has had to make do with watching from the sidelines as he recovers from his significant setback. He has posted a video of his comeback process, ahead of his imminent return to the pitch, with the caption: "One day you will see, why the wounds were worth the war."

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