John Terry could miss 11 Championship matches due to injury – how will Aston Villa cope?
Steve Bruce, manager of Aston Villa.
Aston Villa endured a difficult final match before the international break as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.
The result ended a three-match undefeated run for Villa in the second tier of English football and was also only their second loss in 13 league outings.
John Terry of Aston Villa looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match against Preston North End.
Not only that but captain John Terry was forced off in the 21st minute with what turned out to be a broken metatarsal; an injury that owner Tony Xia revealed will keep the centre-back out of action for between eight to ten weeks, as reported by the Birmingham Mail.
It means Terry will be missing for at least nine Championship games and possibly as many as 11, which includes potentially tricky away trips to Leeds United, Derby County and Middlesbrough and the visit of highflying Sheffield United and Bristol City to Birmingham.
This is a major blow for the Villans, who currently have the third best defensive record in the division with 15 goals conceded in 16 fixtures thanks largely to the presence of the 36-year-old – who up until the weekend had played every minute of league football in 2017/18.
Aston Villa captain John Terry during the Sky Bet Championship match against Middlesbrough.
The absence of Terry was immediately felt against Wednesday, who scored their second and eventually winning goal two minutes after the skipper had left the pitch as they passed through the home defence.
The former Chelsea star and James Chester had formed a formidable central defensive partnership, but now Chris Samba, Tommy Elphick or Micah Richards will need to step up to try and fill the void.
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