The international break brings further injury worries to Aston Villa

It’s quite often that Villa fans get frustrated with the international break schedule. A week-or-so break from routine often comes at a crucial point in the campaign - much like this month’s break, which follows Villa’s 3-0 thrashing of Derby.

Of course, most people worry about the international break for other, more pragmatic reasons. Their fears have been validated as Aston Villa face an awful return of three injuries from this single international break. We’re just about cursing flags and borders right now.

The headline injury is that of James Chester, who couldn’t continue play against Denmark in the Nations League matchup. Wales saw him actually limp off the pitch in the second-half and we don’t yet know how bad his injury is.

There are further worries over John McGinn who withdrew from the Scotland camp after picking up a calf strain. It doesn’t sound too bad, but we’d rather not take any chances there - obviously. McGinn is among Villa’s most mobile of athletes, and anything that affects that is clearly going to affect his game. Neil Taylor also withdrew from his national team after sustaining a minor injury in Villa’s match with Derby County. At least these two can be replaced.

Villa go into a match with Birmingham City directly after the international break closes. The break in that phrase seems to be more literal than ever before - and with Iceland and the Republic of Ireland still to play, we await further news on any more injuries...