{"id":26450,"date":"2026-04-14T23:27:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/14\/latest-update-on-the-injury-of-33-year-old-aston-villa-star-do-they-need-to-fix-after-forest-draw\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T23:27:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T23:27:46","slug":"latest-update-on-the-injury-of-33-year-old-aston-villa-star-do-they-need-to-fix-after-forest-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/14\/latest-update-on-the-injury-of-33-year-old-aston-villa-star-do-they-need-to-fix-after-forest-draw\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest Update On The Injury Of 33-Year-Old Aston Villa Star: Do They Need To Fix After Forest Draw?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aston Villa move into the final stretch of the 2025\u201326 Premier League season with real wind in their sails and a clear shot at Europe. Even while juggling a UEFA Europa League campaign, the club managed their best top-flight winning streak since 1910 earlier this term, racking up eight straight wins after beating Chelsea on 27 December 2025.<\/p>\n

Sitting fourth with 55 points and just six games left, Aston Villa<\/a> are in the driver\u2019s seat for Champions League qualification. Unai Emery has created a team that are as smart tactically as they are dangerous in attack, and the fans at Villa Park have moved past just hoping for a top-half finish. That new status brings its own pressure, though, especially when points go missing at grounds where Aston Villa really should be clinical.<\/p>\n

Bizot steps in as Mart\u00ednez withdraws, but how serious is it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Villa\u2019s plans for Sunday\u2019s trip to the City Ground were thrown into chaos when Emiliano Mart\u00ednez pulled out after the warm-up, which became the third time this has happened this season. Marco Bizot had to step in at the last minute. After the match, Emery confirmed that Mart\u00ednez felt a twinge in his calf during drills and didn\u2019t feel right enough to start.<\/p>\n

Gast\u00f3n Edul of TyC Sports reported on X<\/a> that while it is a muscular strain, it shouldn\u2019t keep him out for long. Argentine outlet Ol\u00e9<\/a> shared that optimism, noting the initial outlook was minimal concern and describing it as a mild issue despite the initial panic of the late withdrawal. Mart\u00ednez was scheduled for scans on Monday to be sure.<\/p>\n

The stats show exactly why Villa fans are holding their breath: in 27 league games this year, Mart\u00ednez has kept 8 clean sheets and holds a save percentage of 72.64%, according to Footy Stats. He is, quite simply, the heartbeat of their defence.<\/p>\n

Does this draw expose something Aston Villa need to fix before the run-in?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Aston
BOLOGNA, ITALY \u2013 APRIL 09: Emiliano Mart\u00ednez of Aston Villa FC gestures during the UEFA Europa League 2025\/26 Quarter-Final Leg One match between Bologna FC 1909 and Aston Villa FC at Stadio Renato Dall\u2019Ara on April 09, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Even without Mart\u00ednez, Villa started sharp and deserved their early lead, with Victor Lindelof and Pau Torres looking solid at the back. The breakthrough came in the 23rd minute when Murillo turned a Morgan Rogers cross into his own net, but Neco Williams pulled Forest level with a strike from distance just before half-time.<\/p>\n

Morgan Rogers<\/a> and Ollie Watkins both had sights of goal in the second half but couldn\u2019t find the finishing touch. In a race for the Champions League where nothing is guaranteed, failing to turn dominance into goals is what separates the top four from the rest. The Mart\u00ednez injury makes the team look a bit more vulnerable, as they always look more secure with their World Cup winner between the posts.<\/p>\n

Bizot did a steady job on Sunday, but he isn\u2019t on the same level. With a potential Europa League semi-final clash between these two clubs on the horizon, getting Mart\u00ednez back to full fitness isn\u2019t just a bonus, it\u2019s a necessity. Aston Villa have the talent, but their room for error is getting smaller by the week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aston Villa move into the final stretch of the 2025\u201326 Premier League season with real wind in their sails and a clear shot at Europe. Even while juggling a UEFA Europa League campaign, the club managed their best top-flight winning streak since 1910 earlier this term, racking up eight straight wins after beating Chelsea on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":26451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}