Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard is confident Zimbabwe midfield general Marvelous Nakamba would recover between three to four months after undergoing surgery for a knee injury last week.

Gerrard said Nakamba, who had rediscovered his best form of late resulting in winning the Premier League team’s Player of the Month award for November 2021, had a successful surgery.

 “He’s had successful surgery,” Gerrard to Villa website ahead of the now postponed match against Burnley over the weekend.

“The surgeon is really happy with his operation and how it’s gone and now he’ll start his recovery process and recovery plan.

“He’s going to be missing for somewhere in the region of 12 weeks if it is a fantastic rehab or it could be up to 16 weeks. It will be somewhere in the middle of 12-16 weeks.”

Nakamba has also been ruled out of Zimbabwe’s squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations finals scheduled for Cameroon next month.

The midfield anchor limped off when Villa played against Liverpool in a match which the Kop won 2-1.

Nakamba is the only Zimbabwean who plays regularly in the top-flight of the Premier League and, alongside Zambians Patson Daka and Enock Mwepu, the only players from Southern Africa to grace what is considered the best elite football league in the world.