Major blow: Ashley Preece drops fresh Villa injury update, Gerrard will be gutted - opinion

Aston Villa fell to a 2-1 defeat yesterday against West Ham United thanks to goals from Andriy Yarmolenko and Pablo Fornals after winning their three previous league games prior to the clash at the London Stadium.

As well as the disappointing result, the Midlands club were handed a potentially major injury blow during the match after left-back Lucas Digne was forced off the pitch with just ten minutes on the clock with a suspected injury.

In a Twitter post from Villa journalist Ashley Preece after Sunday’s clash, he revealed that the French defender is apparently set to “have an MRI scan to determine severity of his hamstring injury.”

Since arriving at Villa Park back in the previous January transfer window from fellow Premier League side Everton in a deal worth a reported fee of £25m, the left-back has immediately made himself a key player for Steven Gerrard by appearing in all but one of the nine league games the Villans have played.

In the eight league games he’s played in for his new club, the defender has managed to rack up a higher average of crosses per game (1.3) than any other Villa player, highlighting just what he’s capable of offering Gerrard’s side and what they will be missing if his hamstring injury keeps him out of action for a significant period of time.

In addition to this, the 28-year-old has also picked up an average of 1.4 key passes per game, the joint-second highest alongside Emi Buendia and John McGinn, showing just how much of an attacking threat he is as well as his crosses, meaning that the Villans will not only have to deal with having a defensive option out of action but also someone that can be an attacking threat for the team.

With all of this in mind, it would be safe to suggest that the