Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has suggested that Pau Torres may have suffered a broken metatarsal in our 2-2 draw with Brighton.
The Spanish centre-half was forced off in the 20th minute of the encounter, and the initial signs were not good as he required assistance in being carried off the pitch and down the tunnel.
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Further, the broadcast camera switched to Emery as he was informed of the issue from his medical staff, and his reaction also suggested that it was a potentially serious setback.
Speaking to the media after the game, the Villa boss revealed his concern that it could be a broken metatarsal, but further tests on Tuesday will undoubtedly make clear the severity of the injury blow. Although he did downplay the seriousness, it will still ultimately lead to time out of action for Torres.
“I think it’s not a big injury but I think he maybe broke his metatarsal, maybe,” he is quoted as saying by BBC Sport. “We have players to replace him but he is very important. Tomorrow will confirm the injury he has.”
It’s unclear at this stage what sort of timeline Villa and Torres are looking at from a recovery perspective, but the expectation is that the 27-year-old will now be sidelined for our upcoming games, and so Tyrone Mings will step in and fill that void.
There was concern over the Villa stalwart in the latter stages of this game too as he appeared to pull up with a calf issue, but Emery allayed fears over his condition as he suggested that it was just tiredness, and he is hopeful that he’ll be available for selection this weekend when we host Leicester City in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, Torres has been such a pivotal figure for Emery and Villa again so far this season, making 24 appearances across all competitions.
While he still needs to make improvements to the defensive side of his game, his influence in possession and as part of the collective in implementing the style of play that Emery wants is fundamental, and so we’ll have to deal with this blow until he is ready to return.
The hope is that there is positive news on Tuesday following his scans to suggest that the damage isn’t as bad and he’ll be sidelined for less time than initially feared, but there will be an anxious wait to hear an update from the club this week.
