Sometimes you watch football and you just want to scream at your telly. Thursday night was one of those moments.
Ollie Watkins pulled up chasing a through ball during the first half at Villa Park, grabbed his hamstring, and shot a desperate look towards the bench. Twelve painful minutes later, he finally signalled he couldn't continue. Morgan Rogers came on. The damage was done.
Here's the kicker: Villa had already qualified for the Europa League Round of 16. This match meant nothing. Absolutely zilch. They'd secured a top-eight finish, bypassing the knockout playoffs entirely. RB Salzburg, sitting 28th in the table, were the ones scrapping for survival. Villa were playing for pride, or home advantage, or whatever excuse Unai Emery trots out in his post-match press conference.
Keown calls it like it is
Martin Keown, working as TNT Sports' co-commentator, didn't mince his words during the broadcast.
"In retrospect, he should've been rested tonight," Keown said.
In retrospect? Mate, it was obvious in prospect too. Anyone with functioning eyes could see the risk.
Watkins is 30. He's played 21 matches this season. He's Villa's top scorer with seven Premier League goals. He's the focal point of everything good they do going forward. And Emery stuck him in for a game that served no competitive purpose whatsoever.
The striker cupboard is bare
The timing couldn't be worse. Villa are already operating with a skeleton crew up front. Evann Guessand, their backup option, is verging on a loan move to Crystal Palace according to reports. That would leave Villa with precisely zero senior striker options if Watkins is out for any significant period.
The midfield's already in tatters. Youri Tielemans is nursing an ankle injury. John McGinn's sidelined with a knee problem. Boubacar Kamara's also out. Ross Barkley was a doubt going into this one.
And yet Emery still gambled with his most important attacking player.
A night to forget
The match itself was a shambles. Captain Tyrone Mings got caught in possession inside his own box - the sort of mistake you make when nobody's sharp because the game doesn't matter. Edmund Baidoo pounced, squared it across, and Karim Konaté had the easiest tap-in of his career for Salzburg's opener on 33 minutes.
The Austrians added a second through Yeo after the break. Villa, without their talisman and missing their intensity, never really threatened to turn it around.
The Europa League league phase? Over with a whimper. The title race? Suddenly looking a whole lot harder.
The bigger picture hurts
Villa sit third in the Premier League on 46 points. They're seven behind leaders Arsenal and level with Manchester City. It's been a remarkable campaign after that disastrous start - zero wins from their first five matches, remember that?
They've got Brentford at home on February 1st. Then Bournemouth away on the 7th. Brighton at home on the 11th. Leeds at home on the 21st. All winnable fixtures. All opportunities to pile pressure on Arsenal and City.
But without Watkins? That calculation changes dramatically.
The man has been directly involved in roughly 42 per cent of Villa's Premier League goals over the past three seasons. 50 goals in the last three campaigns combined. Even in a supposedly "slow" season, he's still their primary threat.
Harvey Elliott twist
One bizarre subplot from Thursday: Harvey Elliott, on loan from Liverpool, actually started the match. Emery's been keeping the attacking midfielder away from game time all season - reportedly to avoid triggering a buy obligation in the loan agreement.
So Villa are happy to risk angering Liverpool by finally playing Elliott in a dead rubber, but not happy to rest their injured-prone 30-year-old striker in the same match? The priorities are baffling.
What now?
Emery will face questions. He should face questions. The extent of Watkins' injury remains unknown - hamstrings can be anything from a minor tweak to weeks on the treatment table.
Villa fans are hoping it's the former. They're also hoping the manager learns from this. Some games just aren't worth the risk.
Thursday night's Europa League fixture was one of them.
