Danny Ings Avoids Serious Knee Injury Against Aston Villa

Southampton striker Danny Ings is not thought to have suffered any serious damage to his knee in his side's 4-3 win over Aston Villa and is expected back in training in the near future.

Ings, who added his fifth goal of the season during the game, was forced off the pitch in the dying embers of the game following a clash with Villa's Ahmed Elmohamady, and given his well-known struggles with injuries in the past, there were real worries that the striker had picked up a serious knock.

He was immediately sent to hospital to check out the severity of the injury, and as noted by The Telegraph, scans have not found any major ligament damage and he is expected back in training after a brief rest.

Ings jarred his knee and looked to be in real pain following the collision, but he appears to have walked away relatively unscathed, in what comes as a huge boost to Ralph Hasenhüttl and his team.

The striker has been one of the Premier League's top marksmen in recent months, fighting his way back into Gareth Southgate's England squad with an incredible run of form which dates all the way back to the start of the 2019/20 season.

Ings bagged 22 goals last season and has maintained that form this year, helping the Saints to a five-game unbeaten run which includes a draw against Chelsea and victories over the high-flying duo of Villa and Everton.

It's unclear whether Ings will be ready to return in time for Friday's visit of Newcastle United. Should he need a period on the sidelines, Hasenhüttl will have to decide between Shane Long, Michael Obafemi and academy starlet Dan N'Lundulu to replace him up top alongside Che Adams.

That is the Saints' last game before the international break, so Ings will have plenty of time to get back to his best in time for the trip to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on November 21.

Southgate will be keeping a close eye on his recovery as he prepares to name his squad for the upcoming break. England will face both Belgium and Iceland in the Nations League, and Ings would likely have been a certainty to feature.

He scored on his first international start, the recent 3-1 win over Wales, and will be determined to get back in time to keep that streak going.

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