The Sunday Mail
Langton Nyakwenda
Sports Reporter
HIS injury has been topical in the Midlands region of England.
Marvelous Nakamba is dominating football headlines on both his club website and the Birmingham Mail, a publication that carries exclusive news for Aston Villa.
The 27-year-old Zimbabwean international suffered a knee injury during Villa’s 1-0 defeat at Liverpool last weekend and is now set for a surgery before missing action for at least three months.
The key Warriors midfielder has however, vowed to return stronger, with those close to him indicating that Nakamba is naturally devastated but remains as optimistic as he is determined.
His father, Anthony, told The Sunday Mail Sport yesterday that he was happy that his son has developed a strong mentality and is actually eyeing a strong comeback.
“I have been talking to him regularly and I can feel he is strong mentally. He says he will come back stronger,” Anthony said.
“It’s very unfortunate he has picked up this injury at a time he was enjoying his game under new coach Steven Gerrard.
“Everyone was happy with his form, as a family we were elated to see him start again for Aston Villa, but such is the nature of football . . . injuries are common in this game,” he said.
The injury has ruled out Nakamba from the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon where Zimbabwe will play Senegal, Guinea and Malawi in Group B.
Injury also blighted Makamba’s performance for the Warriors at the 2019 Nations Cup in Egypt where he sat out most of the group games.
Nakamba will also miss Aston Villa’s crucial league matches against Chelsea and Manchester United at Old Trafford, which will be played during a hectic festive programme for Premier League clubs.
That however, is subject to the games not being postponed owing to a spike in Covid-19 cases in England which has already forced a postponement of a number of Premiership games.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail late Friday, Villa coach Gerrard described Nakamba’s injury as a “big blow.”
The Zimbabwean has been one of the club’s most consistent performers since Liverpool legend Gerrard took over from Dean Smith on November 13.
He started in five straight games since November 20, when the Claret and Blue beat Brighton 2-0 at Villa Park.
Nakamba also started in the 2-1 away win at Crystal Palace, 1-2 home loss against Manchester City, 2-1 win against Leicester City and last Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Anfield.
“We’ve also got other people capable of playing as a six as well, but Marv (Nakamba) is a big blow because since we’ve come in, in the first four games he played for us he was arguably the most consistent player,” Gerrard told Birmingham Mail ahead of yesterday’s game against Burnley.
“He stepped forward and stepped up and the system suits Marv really well, but we’ll give him every bit of support and welfare he needs from now until the moment he is back.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back fitter, stronger and better, and he will
be a big player for us in the future,” said Gerrard.
The Villa boss also revealed the extent of Nakamba’s injury in an interview with the club’s website.
“The surgeon is really happy with 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.”
Despite Gerrard heaping praise on his man, speculation was rife late Friday in some quarters, that Villa might replace Nakamba when the January transfer window opens.
“Aston Villa could be tempted to replace Marvelous Nakamba when the January transfer window opens,” wrote the Birmingham Mail.
However, Gerrard has remained tight lipped on his January transfer plans.
He instead insisted that Villa have a number of internal options.
“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 focus is currently on what we have available as of now.
“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 there,” Gerrard said.
