Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining an ankle injury in his side's 2-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
It's been a difficult start to the 2026/27 Premier League campaign for Aston Villa, and their woes were worsened when Unai Emery confirmed that Maatsen could be out for a "long, long time" following James McAtee's reckless tackle in the West Midlands at the weekend.
The Dutchman was unable to continue, and with the hosts having already made all five of their substitutions, they finished the game with 10 men and paid the ultimate price when Forest's Igor Jesus converted the deciding goal in the 88th minute.
Maatsen's absence leaves summer arrival Matteo Ruggeri as the Villan's only available left-back, and we've taken a look at when the 24-year-old could return.
When is Ian Maatsen expected to return from injury?
As per The Athletic's Jacob Tanswell, Maatsen is set to miss between six to eight weeks with an injury to his right ankle.
MRI scans revealed that the left-back has not fractured his ankle, but he has sustained tendon damage.
While it's a huge blow for Villa, you could argue that Maatsen's injury has come at the perfect time, with possibly half of the defender's spell on the sidelines set to come during the three-week international break.
If Maatsen makes a swift recovery and returns on the shorter end of the six to eight week timeframe, he could feature when Villa welcome Fulham on Saturday 31st October.
If his recovery takes the full eight weeks, he's likely to miss games against Barcelona and Manchester United and could return when his side play Sunderland at Villa Park on 21st November after the two-week international break.
