Unai Emery provides Youri Tielemans update and hits back at 'sneaky' Aston Villa criticism
Unai Emery has provided an update on Youri Tielemans' fitness ahead of the final day clash against Manchester United
Aston Villa will take a late check on Youri Tielemans ahead of facing Manchester United on the final day of the Premier League season.
The Belgian has missed Villa’s last two matches - against Bournemouth and Tottenham - after suffering a calf problem earlier this month.
He had scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Fulham before being ruled out of the next two games, which Villa also won, boosting their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
If they beat United, Villa will secure a top-five spot if Chelsea fail to beat Nottingham Forest or Newcastle United do not win at home against Everton. Additionally, Manchester City must avoid losing to Fulham if Villa are to qualify with a win at Old Trafford.
Ahead of the game, Emery was asked to provide an update on Tielemans’ fitness.
He said: “He trained today, the first day he trained with the group, and tomorrow he'll train again. If he's feeling good and comfortable, more or less, without some doubt, then he will be with the team and the squad for Sunday."
Tielemans was named in Belgium’s squad for the June internationals against North Macedonia and Wales. But manager Rudi Garcia claimed the 29-year-old’s minutes should have been managed better this season, suggesting his calf injury could have been avoided.
“Obviously, there’s the final match for Aston Villa this weekend, and it’s very important because the top of the table is very tight in the race for Champions League qualification,” Garcia explained.
“What matters is that Youri is fully recovered - not necessarily that he plays in the last match. He’s already played plenty this season. I think he’s the player who has played the most.
“I would even say it’s not surprising that he got injured, because to me, he played too much. Sure, Amadou Onana was injured for a while, but I think within Aston Villa’s squad, there were ways to give him some rest at times.
“I know Boubacar Kamara well, because I was the one who gave him his debut at Marseille. He was a central defender, and I turned him into a midfielder. That speaks to the kind of position changes we could consider, maybe even at right-back, with players from the national team.
“They have McGinn who can play there too… So in my opinion, they really had plenty of players to give Youri a break and avoid injury.
“Apparently, it’s not too serious, but it’s the calf. And personally, I don’t like calf injuries because they’re sneaky. I don’t know if that makes sense - they’re insidious. So I really hope Aston Villa’s medical staff have analysed it well for Youri, and that he doesn’t come back too soon and re-injure himself this weekend.
“That’s why I’m telling you that if he doesn’t play, it’s not a problem. I’d rather we take care of his recovery ourselves. At least that way, we’ll be sure of the quality of the recovery.”
However, Emery did not accept any criticism of Villa's management of Tielemans, and today responded: "I am focused of course how he is doing the process with us, this year and last year.
"We have very good professional coaches and physios and doctors here. We are always extremely demanding to choose how we are playing with the players.
"Always I am respecting the national team but Youri Tielemans' commitment, he is every day here, his performances, his process here with us is always very clear. I am so happy with him. Maybe other people can’t have the same information we have every day to make our decision."
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