Unai Emery could be without Aston Villa goalkeeper Zion Suzuki for weeks in the New Year
Zion Suzuki could miss a number of Aston Villa matches after the New Year if he is selected to represent Japan at the Asian Cup.
Japan have qualified for the competition, which will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 7 until February 5, with the Samurai Blue scheduled to begin their campaign against Indonesia on January 11.
They will then face Thailand and Qatar in the group stage on January 16 and January 20 respectively, with Japan expected to progress from the group as one of the tournament favourites.
If Japan finish top of Group F, they will face the runners-up from Group E in the round of 16, which could feature one of South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam or Yemen.
Should they progress from that last-16 tie, which is scheduled for January 24, and having topped their group, Japan’s route to the final would include a quarter-final on January 28 and a semi-final on February 1, before a potential final on February 5.
Villa will travel to Everton on January 5 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, just six days before Japan’s opening game against Indonesia, before an FA Cup third-round fixture on the weekend of Saturday, January 9. It remains unclear when Suzuki, if selected by Japan, would be required to join up with the national team.
Villa’s first fixture during Japan’s group-stage campaign comes against Manchester United on January 16.
Borussia Dortmund will then visit Villa Park in the Champions League on January 19, before Villa travel to Fulham on January 23 in their first match after Japan’s group stage concludes.
Three days after Japan’s potential round-of-16 tie, Villa are scheduled to face Slavia Prague in their final Champions League fixture, while two days after a possible semi-final, they will travel to face Ipswich Town.
On February 6, one day after the Asian Cup final, Villa will play Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Then, when Villa welcome Bournemouth in the Premier League on February 10, that would be the first fixture Suzuki could potentially feature in following the Asian Cup.
