Aston Villa star Diego Carlos posts social media message amid lengthy injury battle

Diego Carlos has taken to social media to send an update of sorts amid his long injury battle.

The centre-back joined Villa on a deal worth more than £25million in the summer only to pick up a potentially season-ending injury in his second Premier League appearance.

Diego Carlos ruptured his achilles tendon, one of the worst injuries a footballer can pick up.

The Brazilian faces months on the sidelines, with Villa forced into the market to bring in Jan Bednarek as cover.

In the meantime, Diego Carlos will be beginning his rehabilitation, and he has issued an update of sorts to fans.

The centre-back has posted a video of him picking up his injury, writing in Portuguese: “May my courage be greater than my fear, and may my strength be as great as my faith.”

Steven Gerrard recently spoke about the loss of Diego Carlos, telling Sky Sports: “He was brought in for a reason.

“That was to stiffen us up and help us, making our defensive line a lot stronger. Knowing that the personnel was quite similar, we knew that we might have similar issues to the six months prior. To lose him at the back was very important.”

Discussing the signing of Bednarek, who was brough in to fill the void left by the Brazilian, Gerrard added: “To get two new faces in should help us, bringing some energy, some quality and some competition for places.”

In the best case scenario, Diego Carlos could return in March or April, but achilles injuries are notriously difficult to come back from.

Players have to be very careful about rushing back, and even when coming back at the right time, such injuries can lead to muscular strains further up the leg.

Villa will want to be careful with their £26million investment.