Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings is expected to miss our next two games against Feyenoord and Burnley due to an ankle injury.
The 32-year-old was forced off just half an hour into our win over Fulham on Sunday, as he looked to be in real pain before taking his seat on the bench and receiving treatment.
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It had been hoped that the decision to replace him was more of a precautionary move rather than an indication that it was a significant knock, but it appears to be the latter for the England international.
According to The Athletic, Mings will miss clashes against Feyenoord and Burnley in the Europa League and Premier League respectively in the next few days, and so he’ll target a return after the international break when we head to Tottenham on October 19.
Time will tell if his recovery goes to plan and that touted comeback date proves to be accurate, but it will certainly be an important boost to have him back sooner rather than later.
As Villa look to compete on multiple fronts in the coming months, it’s vital that Unai Emery has as close to a full-strength squad at his disposal for as long as possible to continue to rotate, rest and utilise different tactical solutions, and Mings continues to play an important role for us in the heart of the backline.
That said, Pau Torres has impressed in our last two outings and will be a more than capable replacement, while it could be argued that the Spaniard did enough in our two wins to cement his place back in the starting line-up given his influence in our build-up play, particularly at a time when we’ve struggled to show enough quality going forward.
Nevertheless, especially on the road against sides carrying a real threat in attack, Mings has proven to be a critical option to give us additional steeliness and organisation in the backline, and so it’s hoped that he is ready to return against Tottenham, and will continue to be an influential figure for us this season in our push to improve on a bitterly disappointing start to the campaign.
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