Aston Villa star suffers serious injury at World Cup

Villa have been dealt a huge blow after midfielder Amadou Onana suffered a serious knee injury at the World Cup.

The 24-year-old Belgium international is believed to have torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines.

Onana was forced off early in Belgium’s 4-1 win over the USA in the last-16 in Seattle.

Villa had not been planning to recruit a midfielder this summer, with Boubacar Kamara nearing a return from his own serious knee injury.

But the loss of Onana, their record £50million signing, for what could be a large chunk of the 2026-27 season, is likely to alter that strategy.

Onana has made 72 appearances in all competitions since joining from Everton two summers ago but struggled with persistent, minor injuries.

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku celebrated by holding up Onana’s No.24 shirt after scoring his side’s fourth goal of the match. Onana was later seen on crutches, wearing a knee brace.

Speaking about the injury after the match, Belgium boss Rudi Garcia said: "We have to wait for the medical results but I fear it's a serious injury. I hope I'm wrong, but I think his tournament is over."

Onana’s injury may well prompt Villa to rethink their plans for the summer window.

Boss Unai Emery has been keen to strengthen his attack with the primary focus adding pace in wide area. A right-back to provide cover and competition for Matty Cash had also been high on the club’s list of targets.

But the loss of Onana for what is likely to be a significant portion of the season provides another headache in a summer where the club are again having to tread a financial tightrope in order to comply with financial fair play rules.

Villa will get a little relief thanks to Fifa’s club protection programme, an insurance policy for players injured on international duty.

That will see Onana’s basic salary covered, up to a limit of around £6.4m, for the period he is unavailable.

But sourcing a replacement is complicated by the club’s need to comply with a settlement agreement signed last year with Uefa.

Under those rules, the cost of Villa’s squad submitted at the end of the transfer window cannot be higher than it was at the start.

Much of the club’s business is likely to hinge on the futures of Morgan Rogers and Emi Martinez.

Rogers is wanted by Premier League champions Arsenal but Villa will not consider a sale for anything less than £100m. Martinez, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with Juventus.

Villa will consider offers for midfielder Lamare Bogarde, who is being tracked by both Brighton and Sunderland.

Last year’s big money buy Evann Guessand will also be allowed to leave for the right price, while the club would like to offload Leon Bailey permanently.

Forward Louie Barry is getting close to joining Sheffield Wednesday on a permanent basis and following in the footsteps of his former youth team colleague, defender Sil Swinkels, who joined the Owls last week.