When will Bertrand Traore be back for Aston Villa? AFCON 2023 absence explained

The Burkina Faso winger has fallen down the pecking order under Spanish tactician Unai Emery due to the summer arrivals of Moussa Diaby and Nicolo Zaniolo this summer, playing just 12 minutes in the Premier League.

He has rarely been used as an option off the bench in the 2023/24 season so far. If Villa can stay injury-free, the former Lyon winger is unlikely to represent a huge loss for the high-flying Lions. From player's perspective, Traore will be hoping for a good showing at AFCON to accelerate a transfer away from Villa Park next summer.

Here, GOAL takes a look at when Traore will be able to return to Villa Park from AFCON duty.

How many games will Traore miss?

Depending on how deep Burkina Faso's run in the tournament is, Traore could spend more time away from Aston Villa.

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is scheduled to get underway in Ivory Coast on January 13. Burkina Faso are in Group D and begin their campaign against Mauritania on January 16, followed by a meeting with Algeria on January 20 before rounding off their group stage campaign against Angola on January 23.

Burkina Faso are not one of juggernauts in African football, and if they are knocked out in the group stages, then Traore will miss only two Villa games and could potentially return for their potential FA Cup fourth round tie. Should the Stallions surprise the onlookers by making a deep run into the tournament, then Traore could miss more Aston Villa games.

If the Stallions somehow make it all the way to the final on February 11, the speedy winger could miss as many as six games for Emery's side, and will only be able to return for Villa's Premier League trip to Fulham.