Unai Emery provides injury update ahead of Aston Villa’s Match against Brighton

Unai Emery has provided an update on Aston Villa's squad ahead of their match against Brighton, confirming that Ross Barkley has returned to full training at Bodymoor Heath. However, Leon Bailey will miss the game due to injury.

Bailey, who had been away on international duty with Jamaica, returned last Friday with a contact injury sustained during his time with the national team. He was subsequently left out of the squad for Villa's recent match against Preston North End. On the other hand, Barkley, who has been sidelined since January with a knee ligament injury, was able to rejoin the team in training after missing the last 16 matches across all competitions.

In his press conference, Emery discussed the situation, saying, "We are having our training session this afternoon, trying to take time after the match we played. Barkley was training with the group yesterday. Bailey had a hard kick, I don't think he will train this afternoon and it will be difficult to play the match." He later confirmed Bailey’s unavailability for the match.

"After the match we played and the training we will do, hopefully everybody else," he added.

Villa have seen an upturn in form recently, winning two of their last three Premier League games, equaling the number of victories they managed in their previous nine league matches. The team will be aiming to secure back-to-back away wins in the Premier League for the first time since they won their opening two such matches of the season.

Brighton, who will be hosting Villa, have won just one of their five Premier League home fixtures against the Birmingham club, though that victory did come in this same fixture last season. Villa, who won five consecutive league matches against the Seagulls between November 2021 and September 2023, are now without a win in their last two encounters with them.