Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that both Tyrone Mings and Morgan Rogers will be assessed ahead of our clash with Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.
Both players were forced off with knocks in our win over Chelsea this past weekend, with Mings being replaced in the 59th minute after suffering a knee issue, while Rogers came off in the 78th minute after he was left struggling following a heavy tackle.
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Given the short turnaround between games, the expectation was that both would struggle to be passed fit in time for our trip to Palace in midweek, and Emery has confirmed that they’ll undergo late fitness tests, while seemingly hinting that he’ll look at alternative options in their place.
“His (Mings) wishes that he’s always showing us is to play, even when he was telling me on Saturday that he was not good,” the Villa boss said in his pre-match press conference, as per VillaTV. “When I subbed him, he was telling me he could continue playing. He’s a very important player for us.
“The idea is to have subs performing well as well when we are not having every player available to play.
“One of those is Morgan Rogers, but in case he is not available for tomorrow of course we are going to use another player and believe in our squad to help in the moment we will need them.
Given our absentee list still, it will be important having Disasi back available after he was ineligible to face his parent club on Saturday evening, as he’ll likely fill the void left behind by Mings if he’s unavailable, and partner Ezri Konsa in the heart of the Villa backline.
As for Rogers, given how important he has been for us so far this season and as he continues to improve and develop into a top player, it would be a blow to lose him. That said, we have quality and strength in depth in attack now, particularly after the loan signings of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford in January.
In turn, if he isn’t fully fit, there is arguably no point in running the risk of aggravating his issue, and so it’s hoped that he’s rested and one of our other attacking players gets an opportunity in the starting line-up to make a positive impact.
Meanwhile, Emery also delivered some good news on the injury front, as he confirmed that Pau Torres continues to make progress in his recovery from a broken metatarsal which he suffered in late December, and hopefully the Spaniard will be back in contention next month.