Villa defender Tyrone Mings is expected to miss most of the Premier League season after suffering a serious knee injury in Saturday’s 5-1 defeat at Newcastle.
The club confirmed on Monday the England international will undergo surgery after leaving St James’s Park on a stretcher just half-an-hour into the match.
It is understood Mings sustained damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, the same injury which befell team-mate Emi Buendia in training last week.
Boss Unai Emery is now facing several months without two players who were major parts of his plan for the campaign.
I don’t even know where to start but to say thank you for all of your messages of support Villa fans. From the day I came here on loan I’ve given everything on the pitch, I’ll now give everything off the pitch to come back even better, whilst supporting the team 💜 @AVFCOfficial
— Tyrone Mings (@TyroneMings) August 14, 2023
Villa will enter the transfer market to replace Buendia with talks over a deal for Galatasaray forward Nicolo Zaniolo ongoing. The club pulled out of a proposed move for Leeds winger Jack Harrison after it emerged the 26-year-old will be sidelined for at least another month with a hip injury.
Villa signed Spain international centre-back Pau Torres earlier in the summer, while Diego Carlos and Calum Chambers can also provide cover for the absent Mings.
But it is the latter’s leadership which will be most difficult to replace, with Mings having been a constant presence in Villa’s rise from the Championship since initially joining on loan from Bournemouth in January, 2019.
Mings posted a message on Twitter, thanking fans for their support. He wrote: “I don’t even know where to start but to say thank you for all of your messages of support Villa fans.
“From the day I came here on loan I’ve given everything on the pitch, I’ll now give everything off the pitch to come back even better, whilst supporting the team.”