Unai Emery has confirmed an Aston Villa player picked up an injury against Liverpool on Saturday.placeholder image
Unai Emery has confirmed an Aston Villa player picked up an injury against Liverpool on Saturday. | Getty Images
An Aston Villa player was forced off with an injury during the 2-0 loss away at Liverpool in the Premier League.
Mings came on as a substitute for the final quarter of an hour at Anfield but was forced off just a few minutes later. The former England international held his thigh as he walked gingerly down the tunnel, receiving a consoling pat on the back from Liverpool boss Arne Slot as he did so.
The reason behind Mings replacing Pau Torres for the final part of the match wasn’t immediately obvious, though perhaps it was to add a little more aerial prowess in both boxes while Villa were chasing the game. Regardless, it proved an ill-fated decision as Mings only lasted a few minutes before sprinting back to stop a Mohamed Salah counter-attack and pulling up.
Emery confirms new Villa injury
It’s always difficult to determine the exact extent of any injury immediately after it’s occurred, especially when it’s a muscular problem. Emery was therefore unable to provide any real detail on Mings during his post-match press conference, though the head coach did at least suggest a potential timeline.
“It’s his hamstring,” Emery confirmed to Birmingham World. “Yes, normally some weeks he will be out with an injury like that. But tomorrow we will test him and know exactly how much he will stay out of the team,” he added.
Mings is expected to undergo a scan on Sunday to determine the severity of the hamstring problem. The recovery time could range from a matter of days to several weeks or even months, so Mings and the Villa staff face a nervous wait.
What matches could Mings miss?
As much as we are yet to gather a full understanding of Mings’ injury, the fact that it’s his hamstring makes him at least a doubt for Villa’s two games before the November international break, both on home soil. The Villans take on Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Europa League on Thursday before playing host to AFC Bournemouth on Sunday afternoon.
Mings being out is far from ideal but the timing is favourable with the international break coming up. Of course, if the injury is serious and he’s out for a while, the November break doesn’t make much of a difference, but it will be a good time for his recovery if it’s a shorter-term issue.
In the meantime, Emery is bound to utilise Pau Torres as much as possible. The Spaniard has been revitalised in recent weeks after a difficult start to the new season, proving his worth as the ball-playing centre-back in Emery’s robust structure. As much as Villa haven’t been scoring enough goals, they’ve been able to create chances through bypassing the high press. Pau’s incisive passing is often vital to that.
If Mings is out for a long period, Villa might notice his absence against the likes of Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of this month. Games against teams at the bottom end of the table can always act as banana skins, while they’re also typically quite physical and scrappy encounters. Mings thrives in those environments. Pau, not so much.
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