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Well, Villa’s right-back dream is over before it began.
Ritchie De Laet has suffered a knee injury which has effectively ruled him out for the rest of the 2016/17 season and may require surgery. De Laet suffered the blow against Brentford and tried to play on before collapsing and asking to be substituted.
De Laet confirmed the news himself:
Absolutely gutted that I'm gonna miss this season but I'm sure the boys will turn it around and get us up there #UTV
— ritchie de laet (@de_laet_r) September 16, 2016
Earlier, in an press conference broadcast on FaceBook, Di Matteo praised Ritchie.
"He's had a really positive impact within the group as well and has shown some good performances. He's a really likeable player to have around and has a great work ethic. It's a blow for him and a blow for the team, but we have cover.
That cover is pretty substantial - Leandro Bacuna, Micah Richards and Alan Hutton are next in line to play on the right of Villa’s defence.
Get well soon Ritchie. I hope we don’t miss you too much.