Overview
- Villa beat BG Pathum 3-1 in Bangkok but left the match with fresh injury concerns after captain John McGinn appeared to jar his left knee and new loanee Alejandro Garnacho was substituted with a bloodied facial knock.
- Boubacar Kamara marked his first action in seven months by coming off the bench and scoring, giving Unai Emery a positive fitness signal in midfield.
- The club has said it will assess Garnacho and McGinn before Friday’s friendly with Bayern Munich in Hong Kong to determine their availability for the rest of the Asia tour.
- Johan Manzambi remains in recovery from a World Cup knee problem and is expected to miss the UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA rest rules mean other World Cup returnees will have limited training before the Salzburg match.
- If McGinn or Garnacho are sidelined then Emery must juggle short prep time, long-distance travel and constrained returns from internationals when naming a side for the Super Cup and the early Premier League fixtures.