Injured midfielder Emi Buendia admits that he has felt part of Aston Villa's season despite his absence from the field.

The creative talent ruptured his ACL in training back in August on the eve of their first game of the season.

Losing Buendia was seen as a huge blow at the time, but Villa are battling for a top four finish this season.

"Being close to my teammates was the reason I decided to have surgery in England and recover at the club," Buendia told Relevo.

"I go to all the team's home games and I try to be in the locker room before and after the games.

"I tried not to lose that routine. From the first moment the boys have been very on top of me and I have not felt displaced.

"When the extent of the injury became known, Emery called me. He told me to be calm, that it was time for me to recover in the best possible way and to enjoy the family. That if I needed anything. Almost every day he asks about my progress, how I feel and how I am psychologically."

Buendia added: "There are moments when you wonder how I would be now if I didn't have the injury . Seeing the team's situation and how they are...I would love to be on the green with them. Suffering, running and enjoying."

"When I let go of the crutch it was an incredible feeling. It's like starting from scratch, like starting to walk when you're a child. That feeling of putting your foot down again was something... It shocked me to feel weight on that crutch again. left leg. When you see that you are progressing, that you are achieving things in this type of recovery that is so difficult and so hard, the satisfaction you feel is an incredible thing.

"The greatest moment of satisfaction I have felt in all these months? There are many, but I will stick with a recent one. I went to the doctor's office and saw that my knee moved like a normal knee . I didn't feel any kind of discomfort. It was one more step in that return to normality."