Aston Villa's Marvelous Nakamba has been ruled out for between three and four months following a surgery on his knee.
The club confirmed the news on Friday afternoon. The Zimbabwean international midfielder was voted the club’s Player of the Month for November, following a great month for Villa.
He walked off injured in Villa's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday, and subsequently missed the club's 2-0 victory over Norwich on Tuesday.
Aston Villa head coach Steven Gerrard, speaking ahead of his side’s clash against Burnley, revealed Nakamba has undergone an operation.
“He’s had successful surgery,” Gerrard said. “The surgeon is really happy with his operation and 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.
“It will be somewhere in the middle of 12-16 weeks.”
Aston Villa's Marvelous Nakamba reacts after missing a penalty during the Carabao Cup third round match at Stamford Bridge, London. Picture date: Wednesday September 22, 2021.Nakamba’s spell on the sidelines comes as Villa enter the festive fixture schedule, in which they will take on Chelsea and Manchester United, twice before January 15th.
Aside from the recovering Nakamba, Gerrard will be without a number of players for Saturday’s clash against the Clarets at Villa Park.
“We have certain individuals missing for tomorrow’s game,” Gerrard said.
“Ashley Young is 50/50. Keinan Davis, Morgan Sanson and Anwar El Ghazi are out, Leon Bailey, Bertrand Traore and Marvelous Nakamba are still out. You can work out who is out with what.”
'IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT YOU!' | JOHN GILES SIDES WITH JURGEN KLOPP ON VACCINATIONS
Football on Off The Ball brought to you by Sky. All the football you love in one place across Sky Sports, BT Sport & Premier Sports.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
