Villa lose four for Newcastle as Barkley and Hemmings face late tests

Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, Ian Maatsen and Matteo Ruggeri will miss Aston Villa’s Premier League trip to Newcastle United, with no return dates given for any of the four. Manager Unai Emery said Ross Barkley and George Hemmings would be assessed before the squad travels on Saturday.

Barkley played 85 minutes in Villa’s 6-0 Champions League win over Fenerbahce on Wednesday and felt pain afterwards, Emery said at Friday’s press conference. “We will see this afternoon how Ross [Barkley] is coming along after the match on Wednesday,” the Villa manager said. “He played 85 minutes and was with some pain. We’ll check him this afternoon.”

Hemmings was unavailable for the European match. Emery said the youngster was “close to joining us” and that Villa would decide after Friday’s assessment whether he could travel. Modou Keba Cisse is also listed as doubtful.

The timing leaves Emery with a short turnaround: Villa return to league action less than 72 hours after their European win. Emery said the players’ readiness would shape his selection, explaining that he wanted to know who could give “100%” after the demands of Wednesday’s match. He said he expected to clarify his choices after the afternoon or evening training session.

Villa arrive in Newcastle 16th in the Premier League, with five points from six matches: one win, two draws and three defeats. Their next league fixture is against Newcastle on Saturday, 17 October, with kick-off at 17:30 BST.

Emery said the team was improving, while acknowledging that the work of rebuilding remained difficult. He pointed to recent results as signs of progress: Villa lost at home to Nottingham Forest, then won at Tottenham and drew with Brentford. With four players unavailable and Barkley and Hemmings still to be assessed, Friday’s checks will determine how many further options Emery has for the trip.