Aston Villa have suffered a potentially significant injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City at Carrow Road this evening.

What's the word?

According to The Athletic's Gregg Evans, Villa midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a knee injury, although the seriousness of the issue is not yet known.

He tweeted: "Big blow for Nakamba sustaining a knee injury. The severity will be revealed later in the week but if it is bad, #AVFC may consider sourcing a replacement in the transfer window.

"Villa have acted on injuries before in the Jan window and will be flexible enough to do so again."

The in-form 27-year-old has been a key player for Steven Gerrard's charges in the opening period of the current campaign, and his absence from the matchday squad to face Norwich will come as a huge setback.

Steven Gerrard will be gutted

News that Nakamba is expected to be unavailable for the trip to Norfolk and potentially beyond will leave Gerrard feeling gutted, given his importance to the first-team squad.

The Zimbabwe international has forced his way into the starting lineup in recent weeks, featuring from the off in Villa's last seven top-flight fixtures - including all five games of Gerrard's short tenure.

And when taking a closer look at the defensive midfielder's underlying numbers, it's easy to understand why he has become a mainstay for the Midlands outfit.

As per WhoScored, Nakamba has averaged two tackles per league game throughout 2021/22 - the third-highest total compared to his teammates - and 1.5 defensive dribbles, the highest tally amongst his colleague.

The midfield gem has also produced 0.8 interceptions and one clearance while recording a passing accuracy of 86.6%, highlighting his hugely effective displays of late.

With the busy festive schedule set to kick in, Gerrard will be disappointed to lose such a pivotal player at this moment in time, and he'll be hoping the likes of Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey can step up in his absence.

And, in other news...Imagine him & McGinn: Gerrard can form scary AVFC duo with £21k-p/w “special talent”