LiveScore Daily: Kamara set to miss rest of season with ACL injury

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Villa suffer Kamara blow

Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a significant knee injury against Manchester United.

The influential midfielder, 24, limped off in the 65th minute of the 2-1 defeat at Villa Park yesterday, with Athletic journalist David Ornstein confirming he suffered an ACL injury.

After a scan today, the France international now looks poised for an extended spell on the sidelines.

The news is a huge blow to Unai Emery's men, with Kamara playing 30 games in all competitions.

Villa lost both Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia to serious knee injuries at the start of the season and are also sweating over fears defender Ezri Konsa could suffer a similar fate.

In more positive news for the Villans, Leon Bailey has signed a new contract with the club.

The Jamaican, 26, has been rewarded for his excellent form in claret and blue this season after scoring 10 goals and providing a further nine assists.

Playing tricks

RB Leipzig manager Marco Rose says he will believe Jude Bellingham's absence from tomorrow's Champions League clash with Real Madrid when he sees it.

The England star was forced off with an ankle injury in the 57th minute of Real's 4-0 win over Girona last Saturday after scoring twice in the top-of-the-table clash.

He is therefore considered a doubt for the trip to Germany but Rose says he is planning for the possibility of the 20-year-old featuring.

The Leipzig boss, who managed Bellingham for one season at Borussia Dortmund, said: "I don't believe he'll be out until he's not in the stadium tomorrow.

"I know Jude, he will do everything to play the Champions League game. He might see other doctors today in order to be fit. I've read a lot but we'll see if he's here or not.

"He's a great guy and a great footballer with an unbelievable mentality. I think he made the right move. It doesn't surprise me that he made such an impact but the fact that he scores so many goals came as a bit of a surprise."

Poch calls for patience

Mauricio Pochettino has repeated his call for patience with his young Chelsea squad as they look to find their feet in the Premier League.

Pochettino, 51, takes his side to Crystal Palace tonight searching for a win that would take them into the top half of the table following successive league defeats to Liverpool and Wolves.

The Blues, who have the English top flight's youngest squad, may arrive at Selhurst Park in confident form however, after an encouraging 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round replay victory at Aston Villa last Wednesday.

The Argentine said: "I'm not picking the team because they are young. I don't want to be the coach that picks the youngest team in England.

"We are a young team. We have a good balance. We have Thiago Silva who is 39, we have Raheem Sterling, we have [Christopher] Nkunku and [Axel] Disasi. 

"The problem is not that they are young. The problem is that the team is young. You need to build a team. We need to be consistent like a team."

Tough to stop

Nathan Ake knows how powerful a position Manchester City are in thanks to the returns of star duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.

Norwegian striker Haaland scored both of City's goals — with De Bruyne setting up one — as they secured their 10th straight win in all competitions with a 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday.

With the Treble winners now gathering plenty of momentum, defender Ake believes the pair's availability is a "massive" boost.

He said: "We know how good both of them are and when Kevin came on, straight away he looked for Erling. They looked for each other.

"It's massive that they're both fit, both ready to go and it's good to see that we're doing well.

"It's just a lift to see everyone back — we haven't had that for a while — especially the players who can make differences in tight games like this. It's massive for us."

New UCL ball

Adidas have revealed the new ball that will be used in the Champions League knockout stages and final.

Europe's prestigious competition returns this week with the first legs of the last-16 ties taking place tomorrow and Wednesday and the UCL Pro Ball London will be the in the thick of the action.

England's capital will stage this season's final, with the showpiece event taking place at Wembley on June 1.

The UCL Pro Ball London is available to purchase in adidas stores and online here.