Unai Emery has confirmed Pau Torres will be sidelined for two months after breaking a metatarsal.

The centre-back suffered the injury in the first half of Villa's Premier League clash against Brighton last Monday and left Villa Park on crutches after the 2-2 draw. He was replaced by Tyrone Mings, who made his second league appearance of the season.

The 31-year-old is now expected to enjoy an extended run in the team while Torres is sidelined. Last season, Torres missed five matches in all competitions due to an ankle injury, but still played a total of 39 matches in his debut campaign for the club.

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Villa signed Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan in the summer of 2023 to cover the loss of Mings after he suffered an ACL injury on the opening weekend of the season.

Then, after injuries to Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa upon Torres' return to action in February, Lenglet continued in the XI, starting 12 league games in a row from December until March.

In the nine league games which Torres didn't play in last season, Villa only won twice in away trips to Luton and Sheffield United. Defeats came against Manchester United [twice], Newcastle, Man City and Crystal Palace, while Villa were held to draws against Sheffield United and Everton.

Now with Mings fit and available, Villa are in a much stronger position to cope without Torres. He made his return to league action last month and won the man of the match award in that win over Brentford. He was also due to start against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, but pulled out of the squad due to illness.