Unai Emery answers John McGinn injury question ahead of West Ham clash
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery didn’t give an updated timeline on John McGinn’s return from injury, but did confirm that he is ruled out of the club's FA Cup third round clash against West Ham on Friday.
The midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of Villa’s 2-1 win over Leicester City last weekend and was replaced by Jacob Ramsey in the 19th minute. After the match, Emery said his captain could be out for between two to five weeks, but was tight-lipped on his possible return in Friday's press conference.
“John McGinn is not available for tomorrow," Emery confirmed. "We are going to play in the FA Cup trying to be protagonists. As one of our objectives, it is to be a contender to do a way for a trophy. And as well the winner will play in the Europa League.
READ MORE: Replacing Haaland, fishing and a transfer deficit - inside track on Aston Villa target Donyell Malen
READ MORE: Jaden Philogene theory debunked and £84m Aston Villa transfer decision proves why
BUY | Relive the biggest upsets from the World’s greatest domestic cup competition
READ | Jaden Philogene theory debunked and £84m Aston Villa transfer decision proves why
"This is the objective for us in the match tomorrow and we are playing at home. We are trying to build our team and structure, our objective is clear for the second part of the season."
Asked for an accurate timeline on McGinn’s return, Emery responded: “Not for tomorrow.”
It is the second hamstring injury which McGinn has picked up this season after also missing matches against Ipswich Town, Bayern Munich and Manchester United having suffered a problem in the win over Wolves.
Villa's next Premier League match comes against Everton on Wednesday, before they then face another away match against Arsenal on Saturday, January 18.
They'll play a total of seven matches in 22 days from when they face West Ham in the cup to playing Wolves at Molineux at the start of February. Villa's final two Champions League league phase matches against AS Monaco and Celtic will be played eight days apart either side of a league match against West Ham on Sunday, January 26.
