Aston Villa Boss Reveals Exactly Why He Substituted Chelsea Loanee Abraham

Published: September 29, 2018

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has revealed that he had to substitute Tammy Abraham against Bristol City on Friday evening because the striker was playing through the pain barrier after suffering an injury.

Abraham, who joined Aston Villa on the final day of the loan window, subbed out in the first minute of stoppage time.

The Chelsea loanee thought he had scored in the opening ten minutes but saw his goal disallowed as he was deemed to have fouled the Bristol City goalkeeper prior to his header.

''Do you think I want to take my striker off that late on when we’re trying to get a goal? '' Bruce told The Birmingham Mail.

''Tammy was struggling with a calf injury, and might have come off 15 minutes earlier.''

On Abraham's disallowed goal, Bruce said : ''I thought we deserved to win. The referee has made an awful decision in the first-half.''

Abraham spent the whole of the 2016-17 campaign on loan at Bristol City, scoring 26 goals in 48 games in all competitions.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit: avfc.co.uk