Aston Villa handed Ollie Watkins injury scare during Champions League clash vs Young Boys

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins against Young Boys in the Champions League
-Credit: (Image: Joan Cros - Corbis/Getty Images)


Ollie Watkins was spotted with ice on his Achilles after being substituted during Aston Villa's Champions League opener against Young Boys on Tuesday. The 27-year-old, who started Villa's first game in Europe's elite club competition for 41 years, was taken off and replaced by Jhon Duran in the 60th minute.

A matter of moments later, a camera spanned to the Villa bench and appeared to show Watkins with his right leg raised in the leg and a bag of ice placed on his heel. Although it's unknown whether Watkins has picked up an injury or not, that is no doubt a worrying sign for the Villa fans.

Unai Emery could be asked about the issue in his post-match press conference. Watkins, who had failed to score in their opening three matches, netted a brace for Villa against Everton on Saturday. The ex-Brentford forward also thought he had opened his Champions League account against Young Boys, but it was ruled out.

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As for the game itself, Villa had a nervous start but took the lead through Youri Tielemans in the 27th minute. A well-worked set piece routine was finished off by the Belgian, who drilled the ball into the bottom corner.

Villa started to take control and doubled their advantage on 38 minutes, with Jacob Ramsey pouncing on an error from the Young Boys back-line before slotting the ball into the corner.

The Villains were in rampant mood and thought they should have scored a third, as Watkins fired home after his first effort was blocked. However, the goal was disallowed after the ball appeared to strike his arm in the build-up.

That didn't impact Villa in the slightest, with Emery's men continuing to dominate in the second-half. There were a couple of scares, but for the large spot they were in control throughout.

Jhon Duran - like Watkins - felt he had scored a third for Villa but once again, VAR intervened and the goal was ruled out for a handball in the build-up. Villa did, however, make it 3-0 late on when Amadou Onana scored from range. It was a fine finish from the ex-Everton midfielder, who now has three goals since his move in the summer.