Aston Villa confirm broken ankle for Scotland star McGinn

Scotland midfielder John McGinn suffered an ankle fracture in Premier League action against Southampton on Saturday, his club Aston Villa have confirmed.

McGinn went down injured after just five minutes of Villa's 3-1 defeat at Villa Park, having caught his studs in the turf, and had to be helped off the pitch to be replaced by Marvelous Nakamba.

Manager Dean Smith later revealed the player had gone for an X-ray, and the club revealed the extent of the injury on Sunday.

It is reported McGinn - linked with Manchester United - is expected to miss three months following initial fears his season would be over.

The Club can confirm that John McGinn suffered an ankle fracture during yesterday’s match with Southampton.#AVFC #PL pic.twitter.com/Gxewyjg3Sp

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 22, 2019

The news still comes as a sizeable blow to both Villa, who are 18th in the Premier League, and Scotland, as Steve Clarke's men aim to reach Euro 2020.

McGinn has three league goals this term but netted an outstanding seven times in Euros qualifying for Scotland, with a play-off semi-final still to come against Israel on March 26.