With Villa looking to build on a positive run of form, the tournament could hardly be worse timed.
Though a noble competition that grips an entire continent and allows those lesser known nations a chance to write their name into the record books a la Zambia in 2012, the African Cup of Nations is still little more than a nuisance to managers attempting to battle against the tide of a relentless winter fixture list.
And Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce must be counting the days with dread ahead of this year’s edition in Gambia. After all, he’s not only likely to lose his regular goalscorer, he could also lose his most prolific partnership.
Jonathan Kodjia’s tally of eight goals in 17 Championship appearances, including a dramatic late winner against QPR on Sunday, ensures Villa can still realistically harbour hopes of a play-off push in the New Year.
However, the prospect of the Ivorian being unbailable for up to three weeks, and therefore potentially missing five crucial Championship fixtures, doesn’t bare thinking about, especially with Ross McCormack, Jordan Ayew, Rudy Gestede and Gabby Agbonlahor mustering a grand total of eight goals between them in 2016/17.
Furthermore, though few fans will have too many sleepless nights wondering how they cope without winger Albert Adomah, the stats suggest that his importance to Villa’s rise to potential play-off candidates has been understated.
The Ghanaian has set up three of Kodjia’s goals this season, with only the Tommy Smith-Elias Kachunga axis at Huddersfield Town more fruitful in the entire division.
As it stands, it looks like Bruce will be forced to rely upon his seemingly unreliable squad when the New Year rolls around.
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