Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has reportedly undergone a scan on a groin injury that could rule him out of our clash with Everton on Saturday.
The 29-year-old was an unused substitute in our opening-day defeat to Bournemouth, while Steven Gerrard raised further doubts over his involvement in the starting XI moving forward with his post-match comments on the former Villa captain.
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As per BBC Sport, Gerrard noted on Saturday that Mings will be in contention for selection again when he “looks me in the eye and shows that he’s ready to play”, an arguably unnecessary comment at a time when the Villa boss himself is coming under increasing pressure following that hugely disappointing loss at Bournemouth to start the new campaign.
Coupled with Morgan Sanson’s Instagram message where he stated he was fully fit and ready to play having been left out of the squad entirely last weekend, there is a growing sense that perhaps there is a little unrest within the ranks.
That in turn makes it imperative that we bounce back against Everton on Saturday at home, as another poor showing and negative result could do significant damage.
According to the Daily Star, Mings is a doubt to be involved due to a groin injury which he has undergone a scan on to determine the full extent of the problem.
Gerrard did note that the Villa defender was carrying a knock too which made his absence understandable, but time will tell if he’s passed fit and ready to play this Saturday.
Having conceded two poor goals last time out which ultimately came from unacceptable marking and weak challenges in the air, Mings’ presence and aerial strength was missed in our backline and so there is a strong argument in favour of bringing him back in.
It remains to be seen what decisions are made, but Gerrard has to get them right this weekend otherwise the noise level of the growing discontent from Villa fans will only go up.