Aston Villa make injury decision on key defender ahead of Europa League trip to Feyenoord
Aston Villa will be without experienced centre-back Tyrone Mings for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Feyenoord.
According to reporting by the Express & Star, “Mings is also expected to miss Sunday’s Premier League clash with Burnley as the club continues to wait for a clearer prognosis.”
It’s always tough to see players forced off early due to injury and that was the case at Villa Park last weekend when Mings had to be substituted just 32 minutes into the clash against Fulham.
Fulham also had an early setback of their own when Raúl Jiménez was substituted after only 11 minutes.
The Villa defender later pulled up with what appeared to be an ankle issue.
Pau Torres came on in his place and Unai Emery’s men pushed on despite the setback to secure a 3-1 victory against Fulham, with the first goal coming from Ollie Watkins to end the England striker’s nine-game goal drought.
John McGinn and substitute Emi Buendía scored two goals in two minutes just after the break to put the game beyond Fulham.
Losing Mings for at least two matches is definitely a huge blow for Villa after he started all six of their league matches so far this season.
It’s also a shame for Mings himself, who has been a solid addition to Emery’s armoury since returning from a long-term knee injury.
Mings injury creates a problem
Mings now joins Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans on the treatment table, leaving Emery with fewer options as the games begin to pile up on the doorstep of the October international break.
Apart from the victory in the Fulham game, one huge positive was the way Torres stepped in for Mings.
The Spaniard has started just one Premier League game this season in place of suspended central defender Ezri Konsa, but he grabbed his chance against Fulham and was composed; he won all three of his aerial duels and registered six clearances.
Torres is expected to start against both Feyenoord in the Europa League and Burnley in the Premier League. Emery and Villa fans will hope he can carry the confidence from Fulham into these next two matches.
These games provide a big opportunity for him to show consistency and prove he can be relied upon.
“Aston Villa are unbeaten across their five major European games against sides from the Netherlands (W4 D1), their most matches against sides from any country without suffering defeat,” according to BBC Sport.
Feyenoord away will be no easy task. The Rotterdam giants are currently at the top of their league after going seven league games unbeaten (six wins and one draw), scoring 15 goals and conceding just four this season
They will be looking for their first Europa League win of the campaign after losing 1-0 to Braga in their first league phase match.
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