Wesley Moraes has admitted that he ‘cried every day’ for three weeks after suffering an injury which brought an end to his debut Premier League campaign at Aston Villa, speaking to De Krant van West-Vlaanderen.
You have to feel for Wesley.
The Brazilian was just starting to find his feet in English football during the 2019/20 season. Well, before making an ill-fated trip to Turf Moor on New Years’ Day that is.
Aston Villa won 2-1 in Lancashire. But all anyone will remember is the season-ending injuries suffered by both Wesley and goalkeeper Tom Heaton during an accursed afternoon to Sean Dyche’s back yard.
Nearly two years later, Wesley has only played four more games in Villa colours.
But, so far, he has featured only intermittently for the Jupiler League champions with manager Philippe Clement wary of risking another long-term injury.
Does Wesley Moraes have an Aston Villa future?
“I cried every day for the first three weeks after my injury. Not because of the pain, but because I wondered if that knee would still be okay,” admits Wesley, who scored a respectable five Premier League goals after joining Villa for a cool £22 million.
Fortunately, the one-time Brazil international was still a young man at the time of his fateful injury.
“I think if I had been 30 or 31 years old, I would have just stopped (retired). I really thought I would never come back,” he admits.
It remains to be seen whether Wesley has a role at Villa Park.
Dean Smith, the manager who brought him to England in the first place, has since been replaced by Steven Gerrard after all, casting further doubt on his future in Birmingham.
Gerrard has taken a liking to Ollie Watkins since taking over, describing his crucial strike in the 2-0 win against Brighton as a ‘world-class’ finish, and also has England international Danny Ings at his disposal.
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