Steven Gerrard may be without ‘marvellous’ Aston Villa man until February

Follow us on Google Discover

Bertrand Traore may not feature under new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard until next February as the winger continues his recovery from injury, according to Birmingham Live.

The 26-year-old has not featured for the Villa Park outfit since their 2-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur on October 3. The north London clash marked Traore’s fifth outing this term, as he played from the bench to move onto 117-minutes for the season so far in all competitions.

Dean Smith awarded Traore his only starting role of the campaign at Chelsea in September during their Carabao Cup tie. But the former Villa manager was unable to call on his £17m signing toward the end of his Birmingham tenure after he sustained a serious thigh injury.

Traore has now missed Aston Villa’s last eight Premier League fixtures – and Gerrard’s first four in charge – through his injury. The Villans lost the first four, but have three wins since.

Gerrard hopes Traore can return to training before Christmas, but the £78k-a-week winger may struggle for fitness at first. Burkina Faso are also likely to name the former Lyon ace in their Africa Cup of Nations squad ahead of their tournament starting on January 9.

Traore competing at AFCON may keep the forward out of Gerrard’s plans until late-January or early February. The final will be held on February 6 in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde.

Gerrard could be without injury-stricken Traore at Aston Villa until February

Gerrard will hope Traore recovers from his injury soon to return to training and establish at least a baseline of fitness before joining the Burkina Faso squad for next month’s AFCON.

The Villans boss will be loath for Traore to overcome his thigh issue only to return to the treatment room. Gerrard will be especially frustrated having yet been able to field Traore.

Traore offered Smith seven goals and seven assists over 36 Premier League appearances, starting 29, after joining Villa last season. The now-Norwich City coach spoke very fondly of what the former Lyon forward offered him, as well.

“He’s a marvellous technician,” Smith said, via the Aston Villa Twitter account in May. “I’ve been really pleased and I expect better from him next season, as well.”