Aston Villa v Bournemouth injury news: Boubacar Kamara update as 3 ruled out and 5 doubts

Aston Villa play host to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon as they hope to continue a fine run of form in the Premier League. Very much still on the fringes of the top half, The Villans have made a step in the right direction by collecting seven points out of their last nine available but Unai Emery will be hoping for even more success at the weekend.

It was two points dropped away at West Ham United last time out, as Ollie Watkins’ first half opener was cancelled out by a Saïd Benrahma penalty at the London Stadium. Before that, Villa managed a narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and a confident 2-0 victory at Everton.

Things are improving on the team news front too, as key midfielder Boubacar Kamara’s ankle injury isn’t as serious as first feared. “He was speaking with the doctor, and he’s doing well,” Emery said on March 10. “It’s not too serious. We are going to check with each match. He will not be involved on Sunday [at West Ham], but next week, we’ll have a look,” Emery said.

Kamara indeed wasn’t in the matchday squad last weekend, but there’s optimism for some sort of involvement at Villa Park for the final game before the international break. Meanwhile, Leander Dendoncker could return following a “domestic accident”, though he’s still slightly doubtful.

Elsewhere, Brazil international Philippe Coutinho is ruled out until the start of April with a hamstring issue and third-choice goalkeeper Jed Steer will probably miss the rest of the season with an Achilles injury suffered on loan at Luton Town last March. Other than that, there are no fresh concerns to report at the time of publication.

For Bournemouth, it is a very similar story with things improving a little on the team news front. Central defender Illia Zabarnyi (ankle), midfielder Marcus Tavernier (hamstring), and Sassuolo loanee Hamed Traore (muscular) are all being assessed ahead of the weekend. Versatile winger Junior Stanislas is expected back after the international break.

Ruled out: Coutinho, Steer (AVL); Stanislas (BOU).

Doubts: Kamara, Dendoncker (AVL); Zabarnyi, Tavernier, H. Traore (BOU).