Aston Villa could be missing central defensive duo Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Celtic.
After a 1-0 win over BSC Young Boys last Wednesday, Brendan Rodgers takes his team to Birmingham knowing their place in the knockout stages of the competition is secure.
Ahead of the match, opponents Villa have somewhat of a defensive injury crisis, with both Torres and Mings doubts for the clash.
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The latter came off 38 minutes into a 1-1 draw with West Ham United in the English Premier League yesterday, with manager Unai Emery offering an update on his condition post-match: "The first test we did, we think it’s not a long one [injury]," he said (Mirror).
"But tomorrow we’ll test again and we’ll know how important it is. Hopefully it’s not a lot and it’s positive.”
With Mings a doubt, Torres will almost certainly miss Wednesday's match. He isn't due back from a foot injury until early February.
Left-back Lucas Digne deputised at central defence in the pair's absence for part of Villa's draw with West Ham yesterday, but boss Emery reckons he still has a lot to learn to play out of position regularly.
The Spaniard also emphasised how pivotal the injured duo Torres and Mings are: "We have a structure in our build-up, and the left centre-back is very important with Tyrone Mings or with Pau Torres," he said (RecordSport).
"Of course Lucas Digne can play with his left foot, but he needs to get confidence playing more in this position. I needed a left-footed player to be in there, though."
Kick-off on Wednesday evening is at 8pm, as Villa and Celtic compete in the second Battle of Britain in the space of a week.
