£880k Aston Villa star returns from injury after 169-day absence

Aston Villa forward Louis Barry has returned from injury after a near six-month injury lay-off.

The 20-year-old came off the substitute's bench and played 26 minutes in Stockport County's 2-1 win over Colchester United in their Sky Bet League Two match. His loan club had already taken the lead through Paddy Madden after Cameron McGeehan cancelled out Nick Powell's opener.

Barry's cameo at the JobServe Community Stadium will serve as a personal triumph to him however having missed almost half a year through injury. His last game came on October 24, 2023 which is 169 days ago.

Before being sidelined with a serious hamstring problem, Barry had impressed many at Edgeley Park. He registered nine goals and two assists in 15 league matches and it looked to have been a move that would benefit all parties.

The former Barcelona forward returned to training in March, and has been given permission by Villa to play in Stockport's end of season run in. Barry had been rehabilitating at Bodymoor Heath, and after Dave Challinor revealed that Stockport were awaiting for the thumbs up from Villa, he was allowed to play on Tuesday night.

Stockport are closing in on promotion to League One and could get promoted this weekend. They only need one more point to clinch promotion and a maximum of six points from their final four games to lift the league title.

If Stockport were to win the league title it would represent Barry's first major honour in senior football. He has had loan spells at Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, MK Dons and Salford City but at Stockport he will have played a role in helping them win promotion and potentially the league title.

As for his career at Aston Villa, he has been at the club since January 2020 for a reported £880,000. He joined from Barcelona on a three-year contract that could rise up to £3.5m with add-ons. Barry originally came through the academy of West Brom but the Baggies failed to get any compensation after it was revealed they failed to formally offer a scholarship.

Barry penned a contract extension in July 2023 before joining Stockport on loan. The length of his new deal was not disclosed but there are high hopes about the player who had much hype around him during the early stages of his career. He has made one senior appearance for the Villa and that came in the FA Cup against Liverpool when they were forced to name their under-21s team because of rules on COVID-19 at the time.