Voltar
Aston Villa playmaker Johan Manzambi has suggested that he will be fit for Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Viking FK.
The Switzerland international continued his impressive form on Saturday evening, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory at Newcastle United.
Manzambi now has three goals and three assists from his first six appearances since joining from Freiburg.
However, there was concern when the 20-year-old was withdrawn in the 72nd minute at St James' Park.
Nevertheless, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail, Manzambi has reassured supporters that he is not set for a spell on the sidelines.
While acknowledging that he had been on the receiving end of a "kick", the summer arrival played down its impact.
He said: "It wasn't cramp it was a kick but it's OK.
"I have a little bit of pain but it's OK now."
Unai Emery added that the issue was 'not something big', keeping Manzambi in contention for the fixture on Wednesday.
Although Viking FK stunned Bayern Munich and earned a 3-3 draw last week, that is not to say that Emery will name a full-strength XI.
Not only have Villa won back-to-back matches in the Champions League, they face Manchester City in the Premier League three days later.
Victor Lindelof, Boubacar Kamara and John McGinn have already racked up at least 837 minutes of football for Villa in 2026-27.
With Jackson, who said he felt fortunate not to break his leg against Newcastle, having also accumulated a lot of game time alongside Manzambi in the final third, those five players could plausibly drop down to the substitutes' bench.