Leon Goretzka’s Aston Villa debut will have to wait after the midfielder sustained an injury following increased physical demands in training at his new club.
The Germany international revealed the setback on social media, meaning he will temporarily be unable to make his first appearance for the Birmingham side.
Goretzka joined Aston Villa at the end of last summer as a free agent after leaving Bayern Munich. However, the former Bayern Munich player has yet to feature for Unai Emery’s team in an official match.
His latest injury comes before a busy period for Aston Villa, who have made a difficult start to the Premier League campaign. The club have taken only one point from their opening three matches.
Aston Villa are due to begin their Champions League campaign during the week, when they will face Club Brugge in their first match of the league phase. Goretzka’s absence will therefore be felt as Emery prepares his squad for both domestic and European competition.
The midfielder’s move to Aston Villa had raised expectations that he would bring further experience and strength to the team’s midfield. Instead, his first competitive appearance for the club has been postponed by the injury he suffered after the training workload increased.
Goretzka has not yet played for Aston Villa since completing his move at the end of the previous summer. The club will now wait for his recovery before he can join his team-mates in an official fixture.
The injury also means he will not be available immediately as Aston Villa attempt to improve on their early Premier League results. After collecting one point from three games, the Birmingham club face the additional challenge of balancing their league commitments with the start of their Champions League schedule.
The exact date of Goretzka’s return was not given in his social-media message. For now, the former Bayern Munich player’s first match in Aston Villa colours remains on hold.