The timing of the injury is not really the important point - it's the timing of the announcement that Ville was replacing someone in the lineup.
I stick to my opinion that the announcement was more about providing Ville with an opportunity and less about him taking over a spot from a vet.
That's fine. I didn't argue that he was taking over the spot full time this year. But my guess is they wanted to see if he could assume it full time for next year.