Steven Gerrard has confirmed that Diego Carlos has had successful surgery on the Achilles injury he sustained last weekend against Everton.
The Aston Villa head coach was asked about the status of the Brazilian at his pre-match press conference on Friday morning as his side builds up to their game away to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
He said: “It’s certainly a blow to lose a player of his importance.
“We’ve had a week for that to sink in and for us to process that. He’s had successful surgery yesterday, so we’ll look forward and try and be positive.
“Each day that passes he’s closer to a return, and we’ll give him all the patience and support he needs from a medical point of view.
“It’s important that he stays in amongst the group because he’s still got a part to play. That’s something which is forgotten in football: injured players taking a backseat. I don’t want that to be the case. I want him to be very much involved in the dressing room and to show his leadership skills.”
Gerrard was also pressed on whether Carlos’ injury will mean Villa move to bring in defensive reinforcements.
During his answer, the head coach revealed that Kortney Hause has returned to full training this week.
“It’s something that we’re analysing now. We’re having talks behind the scenes to decide what we do,” he said.
“I don’t think there’s an urgent need. We’ve still got three fully-fit centre halves that are ready to go, we’ve got Kortney Hause that’s just joined the group and is back in full training, and we’ve got some fantastic young kids that are brewing in the background as well.
“There’s no urgent need as in hours or days. We’ve got time from now until the end of the window to decide whether we need to get more support in that area.”
