England international suffers devastating long-term injury in latest blow to withering World Cup hopes

Mings had only just returned from an ankle injury, which he suffered during Aston Villa's 3-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League in September. The injury kept him out of action for the club's matches in October but he returned off the bench against Liverpool last weekend. He was introduced in the match in the 74th minute in place of Pau Torres but pulled up in stoppage time as he sprinted back to defend against Mohamed Salah. Mings clutched the back of his right leg due to a hamstring problem and left Anfield in discomfort.

After the game, Emery confirmed Mings' injury setback and predicted that the defender could be out for four weeks. The Spanish coach said: "It’s his hamstring. 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."

According to The Athletic, Mings underwent scans on Monday and the reports have now shown that it is indeed a hamstring injury and quite a serious one, which keeps him sidelined for up to seven weeks. This means that the defender will no longer be available for selection for the rest of the 2025 calendar year. 

The England international has been plagued with several injuries since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, appearing in only 31 matches across competitions in this timeframe. In August 2023, Mings was sidelined after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament. In the current campaign, the central defender has started in six out of the eight Premier League matches he has played.

Mings last played for England in 2023 against Malta in a European Championship qualifying game. Since then, his continuous injuries have kept him out of the Three Lions squad. Mings, who has never played under England boss Thomas Tuchel, was hoping to impress the German coach this season to get a chance in England's World Cup squad, however, this latest injury comes as a major blow. With the defender out till 2026, it is unlikely that he will get enough time to attain full match fitness and play regularly in the second half of the season in a bid to catch Tuchel's eye. 

The 32-year-old is also a leader on the pitch and has played an influential role in the Villa dressing room. His absence from the team will surely impact their performance. 

Emery has fielded the centre-back pairing of Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres quite often this season and the duo will likely continue to feature in the starting lineup in the absence of Mings. Villa also have ex-Manchester United star Victor Lindelof and Lamare Bogarde in their ranks, both of whom could fill in when either of Konsa or Torres are suspended or injured.

The Villans next face Maccabi Tel Aviv in a Europa League fixture on November 5, before taking on Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday.