The Villans will be without the Belgian for the rest of the campaign.
Aston Villa have been handed a sizeable blow after summer signing Ritchie De Laet was ruled out for the rest of the campaign with an injury suffered in Wednesday’s draw against Brentford.
In seasons gone by, the Villans could have simply turned to the emergency loan market to find a replacement.
However, FIFA’s decision to abolish that option leaves Roberto di Matteo with only one viable alternative, besides playing one of Alan Hutton or Leandro Bacuna.
Clubs can still sign free agents outside of the two main windows, but could the following three names do a job?
3) Ryan Taylor
When fit, Taylor proved a steady servant for both Wigan Athletic and Newcastle United in England’s top division, however his fitness record perhaps isn’t the best for someone you’d only need as injury cover anyway. The 32-year-old has promotion experience from spells at Newcastle and Hull, the latter of whom released him in June.
2) Joey O’Brien
O’Brien, freed by West Ham United in June, is also a Championship promotion veteran, having won the play-offs in his first season at Upton Park. The 30-year-old is a full international, winning five caps for the Republic of Ireland.
1) Jose Bosingwa
Both Di Matteo and Steve Clarke, the Italian’s assistant, will be familiar with Bosingwa from their spells at Chelsea. Di Matteo used the Portuguese 12 times before releasing him midway through his short spell in charge at Stamford Bridge, while Clarke worked with him for roughly two months before quitting to join West Ham (we’re not suggesting the two things are linked). Now 34, Bosingwa left Trabzonspor in the summer.
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