Arguably the most talented full-back in the Championship, Villa will be praying their influential left-sider regains match sharpness as soon as possible.
Aston Villa left-back Jordan Amavi has praised the loyalty of the club’s supporters after a last-gasp 2-1 triumph at Reading earned Steve Bruce his first win in charge.
And, while Villa fans were pleased to see the 22-year-old return, the feeling was entirely mutual for the fans favourite.
Jonathan Kodjia’s deflected first-half strike was cancelled out by Yann Kermorgant early in the second half for Jaap Stam’s side, who enjoyed 73% possession in front of their own supporters at the Madejski stadium.
However, Villa left it late to seal their first away win since August 2015, a Premier League opening day success at Bournemouth, as Jordan Ayew slammed home a penalty in stoppage time (below).
After enduring a startling decline since the departure of Martin O’Neil six years ago, the appointment of promotion specialist Bruce (below) has raised hopes that Villa can finally enjoy an extended period of relative success after growing accustomed to abject failure in recent seasons.
A fortunate draw against a dominant Wolves side on Saturday hinted at a resilience often missing during the brief reign of Roberto Di Matteo, and Villa fans will be praying that Tuesday’s impressive away win can lay the foundations for a belated promotion push.
The return of the highly-rated Amavi will certainly help in that regard. A rare bright spot amid a dismal 2015/16 campaign, the French full-back came off the bench for the final quarter of an hour as he continues to recover from a horrendous knee ligament injury he suffered all the way back in November last year.
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