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ASTON Villa have been dealt a rather significant injury blow after it was revealed that Boubacar Kamara suffered knee ligament damage during their recent English Premier League football match against Southampton.

To briefly highlight how important the midfielder has been for Steven Gerrard’s side this season, the Frenchman has made more successful tackles (15), successful pressures (50) and interceptions (12) than any other player at the club. With that in mind, one player in Gerrard’s squad that could potentially benefit from this unfortunate news is Zimbabwean midfielder Marvelous Nakamba.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Villa boss had challenged the midfielder to force his way into the team before the January transfer window opens.

Having only featured in three matchday squads so far this season and yet to make his first appearance of the campaign, presumably as a result of Kamara’s presence in the side, the Frenchman’s injury could now pave the way for Nakamba to step up to the plate and show his manager he has what it takes to be an important player for him.

Back in November, not long after Gerrard was appointed as Villa manager, he had this to say about the £32.5k-per-week Zimbabwean.

He said: “He’s been fantastic, he’s trained extremely well. He’s been really open, his two performances have been outstanding. We were aware of Marvelous before we came in, but he’s somebody who has really stood up and jumped out, he’s basically said in the two weeks, ‘I’m here, I want to contribute, I want to be available’.” This suggests that the 28-year-old does have the capacity and the mindset to be able to step up for his side when it matters.

Bearing in mind how the midfielder ended the previous English Premier League campaign with the joint-third highest average of tackles per game (2) at Villa, this shows that he can be the one to fill in for Kamara and potentially save his career at the Midlands club.

Meanwhile, Nakamba is set to bankroll a girls football tournament slated for November in Zimbabwe.

Through his foundation, the Marvelous Nakamba Foundation (MNF), the Aston Villa midfield enforcer will sponsor the tournament the same he did with U-17 invitational tournament held in Bulawayo in June.

“The Zimbabwe Women’s Soccer League has selected and submitted the participating teams that will be unveiled via the foundation’s social media platforms in due course together with dates and tournament venue,” reads a statement by the foundation.

“The foundation is excited by this new addition to its programs, which accelerate the rapid growth of girl’s football and assist in nurturing talented girls who aspire to be outstanding football stars in the near future.”

The Nakamba Foundation was formed in 2019, as a way of the midfielder giving back to the community through sport and education.

To date, the foundation has paid school fees for 1 500 pupils countrywide in Zimbabwe.

It is also in the process of conducting the Marvelous Nakamba Sporting Complex in Bulawayo. — Readastonvilla.com/Soccer24 Zimbabwe.