Christian Benteke injury might see him miss only two Aston Villa games
Christian Benteke
After Villa fans got over the initial shock that Christian Benteke actually feels pain, the news of a potential six-week lay off for the Belgian striker brought a universal groan from all Villa supporters.
Having been delivered one injury hammer blow with Jores Okore ruled out for the season, a six-week lay off would potentially see Benteke miss five or six games for Villa.
Villa’s Upcoming Games
28th Sept – Manchester City (h)
5th Oct – Hull City (a)
International Break
20th Oct – Spurs (h)
26th Oct – Everton (h)
2nd Nov – West Ham (a)
9th Nov – Cardiff (h)
For once fortune seems to have shined on Villa, with the international break perfectly placed to ensure Benteke misses as little action as possible.
Also, Paul Lambert stated that Benteke was a quick healer at the time of the forward’s injury at Carrow Road, and his pre-match press conference for Manchester City, seemed to reinforce the Villa manager’s optimism with talk of Benteke returning immediately after the international break.
The first evidence of Benteke’s healing power was seen when he tweeted that he’s already ditched his crutches:
thank you everyone for the support I already walking without crutch I’d be back soon #GodIsGreat
— Bentekechristian (@bentekechris20) September 26, 2013
With someone up there obviously looking out for Benteke, Lambert’s press conference seem to suggest that Benteke’s lay-off will certainly be under four weeks, with there being talk about Belgian officials coming to check up on him to make sure he can’t play in their actual closing Word Cup qualifiers in the international break.
‘It’s not as bad as we first thought. The worst fear was that he was going to be out for a considerable time. The doctors are pretty happy with him,” said Lambert. “I certainly wouldn’t think he’ll not be fit for us but play for them. We’re his club.’
For the Belgians to even consider Benteke a possibility for the international matches (i.e. that want to double-check his fitness) is a positive sign.
Villa’s home game against Spurs immediately after the international break could offer a potential return for Benteke, with the Sunday fixture date potentially providing a pivotal extra day recovery time. That would mean Villa would have only have lost their top scorer of this season and last, for just a couple of fixtures.
Villa would be offered little chance against Manchester City even with a fully-fit Benteke, and if they could get a result against Hull without him, then Benteke’s absence could be minimal.
Even if Lambert is cautious in terms of re-introducing him against Spurs, the following week’s home clash against Everton has a high probability of being Benteke’s return date.