Huge blow for Alisha Lehmann's Aston Villa as Lionesses midfielder Lucy Staniforth is ruled out for the rest of the season

The English midfielder is set to undergo surgery on Wednesday due to an ankle injury she sustained while warming up for Villa's win at Sunderland last week. The injury is likely to rule her out for the remainder of the campaign.

The injury is a massive blow for the club as Villa have already lost Laura Blindkilde Brown to Manchester City for a reported £200,000 ($254,000) fee, close to the domestic record for a British player, the £250,000 ($317,000) paid by Tottenham for then-Chelsea forward Beth England. She has signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with City after racking up 50 appearances with Villa and winning the club's Player of the Year award for the past two seasons.

Speaking to reporters, manager Carla Ward revealed: "Lucy Staniforth and Laura Blindkilde Brown have obviously been ever-present in our midfield, so it's a massive hole. Stan has been excellent for us, but it's an injury that requires intervention, so we'll get that done on Wednesday and have her back for pre-season."

Lehmann has to shoulder more responsibility in the absence of Staniworth. The club are sitting in eighth in the Women's Super League (WSL) with just 12 points from an equal number of matches and will face Bristol City on Saturday in another league encounter.