BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
ASTON Villa are not looking to find a replacement for injured Warriors midfielder Marvelous Nakamba in the January transfer window following a successful surgery, which will see the player out for a lengthy spell.
Nakamba, who was enjoying a new lease of life under new coach Steven Gerrard, limped off during the 1 – 0 defeat to Liverpool last weekend in what initially was believed to be a minor injury.
However, the 27-year-old Zimbabwean is now set to be out for 14 to 16 weeks after undergoing a successful knee surgery a few days, ago which could mean an end to his league season campaign.
Gerrard revealed during the press conference to preview this weekend’s postponed Premier League clash against Burnley that while Nakamba’s injury was a major blow for the club they don’t have a midfield crisis and may not need to go shopping in January.
“I don’t think I’ll be giving anything away in terms of potential targets or areas I want to improve in. I think you’ll have to just wait and see what we do. At the moment the transfer window is shut, so the focus is currently on what we have available as of now,” the Liverpool FC legend said.
“We have players capable of playing in that six position. We’re not in an emergency situation. I think Douglas Luiz slotted into that number six position really well, that is the role which he has played in this team many times so he’s comfortable in there.
“We’ve also got other people capable of playing as a six as well, but Marv is a big blow because since we’ve come in, the first four games he played for us he was arguably the most consistent player,” Gerrard said.
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Gerrard also revealed that Nakamba had undergone a successful knee operation.
“He’s had successful surgery. The surgeon is really happy with his operation and how it’s gone and now he’ll start his recovery process and recovery plan.
“He’s going to be missing for somewhere in the region of 12 weeks if it is a fantastic rehab or it could be up to 16 weeks. It will be somewhere in the middle of 12-16 weeks,” he said.
Nakamba is one of the several key players who are set to miss the country’s participation at the Africa Cup of Nations finals which roars into life on January 9 in Cameroon.
