Many Aston Villa fans watched on in disbelief as they saw midfielder Ross Barkley limp off injured in the 2-1 loss against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Chelsea loanee went off in the first five minutes of the Premier League match and Bertrand Traore came on to replace him.
He has had a great start for the club – in five Premier League appearances he has managed two goals and one assist. Villa have definitely lost a huge threat if his problem is serious, as he has averaged 3.4 shots, three key passes and 2.2 successful dribbles per game (WhoScored).
They were not short of opportunities in the match though, as they had 15 shots, and his replacement Traore was involved in the equaliser as he assisted Ezri Konza’s goal (SofaScore). However, they might have converted more than one of these opportunities if Barkley was involved.
Despite the good impact of Traore, the England international proved to be a big miss as they still failed to pick up the three points. This and the the heavily congested fixture list coming up in December could create a big problem for Dean Smith.
Here is how Villa fans reacted to the news:
https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1330165801261871105?s=20
Pain.
— sam (@ramsoberts) November 21, 2020
Hope this isn’t as bad as we fear 🙏 https://t.co/xQLz6uwDH6
— Alan Wilkinson (@AlanWil29662916) November 21, 2020
Shame for Barkley. Hope he isn’t out too long. It was always a risk playing him so much though. https://t.co/GULpShxzFb
— Jace Topher (@JaceOMac) November 21, 2020
Barkley getting injured is a hammer blow. He looks gutted. Out for a while perhaps. #avfc
— Abu Dhabi Villa (@SirSmuglasEllis) November 21, 2020
So gutted for Ross Barkley, hopefully a quick return. Get well soon. UTV @AVFCOfficial #AVFC #AVLBHA
— Mitch Manning 🦁💜💙 (@MitchM77) November 21, 2020
Barkley going off Injured, defence falling asleep in the oppositions half, Trez missing the target from 5 yards out.
Get the feeling it’s going to be one of those days? #avfc
— Lewis (@lewjt11) November 21, 2020
Oh Villa, the sweet torture, the rollercoaster ride, what a start to lose Barkley in the first 5 mins…#AVFC
— AndyVanIsland (@AndyVanIsland) November 21, 2020
In other news, many Villa fans have been raving over one player following his latest comments. Have a read who it was here!
