Jores Okore's Continued Absense Raises Questions for Aston Villa Fans

Just what has happened to Aston Villa's Danish international defender Jores Okore? Ruled out with injury for the majority of last season, the Villa faithful were excitedly looking forward to seeing the youngster don the claret and blue again this campaign.

Most Villans saw Okore and Ron Vlaar as the preferred centre-back paring this season, yet seven games in, the young talent is yet to kick a ball for the first-team. Not just this, but he appears to have fallen down the pecking order and is arguably now the fifth choice central defender.

This has led to questions regarding Okore and his underutilisation at Villa Park. Has he fallen out with boss Paul Lambert? Has the injury taken its toll? Is he not as good as expected? Is he actually Gary Coleman from Diff'rent Strokes in disguise?

The highly-rated defender was signed from FC Nordsjaelland in a £4 million deal last summer and reportedly turned down a switch to Chelsea prior to moving to B6, per TV2 Denmark (h/t Sky Sports). However, Okore—who has Champions League experience and has won eight caps for his nation—has had to endure a troubled year at Villa Park. 

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The 22-year-old played just four times for the first-team last season before injury struck, per Transfermarkt. His debut came as a substitute against Chelsea when he replaced the injured Ciaran Clark. He then played the full 90 minutes against Liverpool and Rotherham United, but he was injured in the first-half against Newcastle United in the subsequent fixture.

It transpired that Okore had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, per Sky Sports. Initially expected to be out for nine months, the young defender was reportedly close to returning to first-team action in February, with Lambert telling the club's official website:

"

Jores is doing great at the minute. I think he is in a good place at the moment with his knee. Hopefully with bit of luck he won't be too far off. He won't be in the squad for a few weeks but he's come back quicker than we actually thought.

"

However, Okore did not return as expected and played no further part in the club's narrow relegation escape. Come May, Lambert was again talking about Okore, suggesting that he'd be fit for the start of the 2014/15 season, per the Express and Star:

"

Jores trained towards [the end] of the season for a couple of weeks and was doing great. He’ll probably need fitness like anybody else because he’s been out a long time. I think Jores will be okay for the start of the season.

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And most recently, Mat Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail, reported that the defender was close to returning to the first-team at Villa Park, yet a month later, he is still to kick a ball for the Midlands outfit. 

In fact, he has not featured in any of Villa's opening seven league games, or the League Cup defeat to Leyton Orient. Further still, Okore has made the bench in just two games—against Liverpool and Arsenal—but has since been dropped in the last two games against Chelsea and Manchester City. To the surprise of many Villans, Ciaran Clark and Nathan Baker appear to be the preferred back-up options.

So why is Okore failing to feature? There could be a few explanations to this slightly perplexing situation.

There could, of course, be nothing to it. A long time out injured may mean that Okore is slowly building up his fitness, as evidenced by his recent U21 appearance against Bolton Wanderers. As such, he may not be ready for the first-team just yet as Lambert bides his time and sees no rush to include the Dane. This is certainly what Lambert is telling the media having recently been quoted as saying of Okore: "He needs games and will play a part in a game very shortly," per Gregg Evans at the Birmingham Mail.

It makes sense not to throw a potentially rusty defender into the starting XI, particularly when a cruel run of fixtures has seen the Villans meet last season's top five teams in consecutive games. If the player isn't 100 per cent, it is unlikely you'd want to risk him against the likes of Sergio Aguero, Diego Costa or even Danny Welbeck.

It's also important to remember that Villa have looked solid defensively this season. Prior to meeting superior opposition in the form of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, Villa had conceded just one goal in four games. Vlaar and Senderos were forming a formidable partnership, and even when Vlaar was injured, Baker and Clark have looked much better than last season. If things aren't going too bad, then it doesn't make sense to change things.

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However, there could be something a bit more untoward that is happening behind-the-scenes and not being communicated to the fans. Rumours of this have been rife after Okore played over 30 minutes as a second half substitute in Denmark's UEFA European Championship qualifying victory over Armenia at the start of September. Why was he deemed fit and available for the national side but not for his own club?

Particularly when Okore himself told BBC WM 95.6, via BBC Sport, that he had recovered from his injury and was looking forward to the new season:

"

I'm really happy, I can train fully now and everything's good. I was really disappointed and it was unlucky to get inured for such a long time. I was playing well. Hopefully, I can get back to my old self and get even better and start again. I want to defend with my heart and be solid, powerful and aggressive.

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Does Lambert not see a future for the young Dane at the club? With four other centre-backs on the books, has it transpired that Okore is surplus to requirements at Villa Park? This could, of course, be a result of his horrific injury, however, it would not be surprising to see that Lambert has again bought a dud player to add to the likes of Yacouba Sylla, Karim El Ahmadi or Aleksandar Tonev. A Bomb Squad 2.0 perhaps?

Another explanation could be that Okore is experiencing troubles which are being kept out of the spotlight, thus is not in the right frame of mind to play. This could be a possibility after the recent revelations that Nicklas Helenius had a troubled year at Villa Park in which he contracted a bacterial infection and became addicted to sleeping pills, per Mat Kendrick at the Birmingham Mail. This shows the club is good at keeping secrets and could explain why Okore has only made the bench in two of Villa's seven Premier League games this season.

Whatever the reason, it is pure guesswork at the moment. It will be interesting to see what happens after the upcoming international break. Okore is not in the Denmark squad for the fixtures against Albania and Portugal, which gives the defender just under two weeks to further enhance his sharpness and match fitness.

If he features, even on the bench, in Villa's next game against Everton on Oct. 18, then probably nothing is wrong. However, if he again fails to get close to the starting XI, then it could be that something more untoward could be occurring. Only time will tell.

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