Aston Villa defender Pau Torres to undergo a scan after he ‘felt a small pain’ and was forced off during win over Nottingham Forest

Pau Torres will undergo a scan this week as Aston Villa wait anxiously to see if their key defender will be on the sidelines again.

The Spain international started only his second game back from an injury lay-off, having made just one substitute in two months due to an ankle problem. He was taken off at half-time against Nottingham Forest, who were beaten 4-2 at Villa Park on Saturday.

With Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos also absent, Villa boss Unai Emery can hardly afford Torres to join them. Villa finished the game with Clement Lenglet and Calum Chambers in central defence, even though Chambers was told he could leave in January.

“Hopefully Pau Torres is not injured, but he felt a slight pain and we decided not to put him in danger,” Emery said. ‘It’s not his ankle. It was a muscle problem at the back of his leg.’

Doubts over Torres were the only blight on an excellent day for Villa, who appear to have gotten over the wobble that saw them lose consecutive home games to Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Unai Emery says the Spain international did not suffer an injury but felt some pain

This was Villa’s third league win in four and put them eight points clear of sixth-placed United and five ahead of Tottenham, who have a game in hand and sit fifth. Spurs visit Villa Park on March 10, a match that could be decisive for both sides’ chances of a top-four finish.

Asked about his team’s prospects of qualifying for next season’s Champions League, Emery was cautious.

He added: ‘If we are still in this position after 33 games, we might be looking at the Champions League. For now, it’s all about being in the top seven. We have to always be positive and focus on every game.”

Forest defender Neco Williams said: “It wasn’t our day today. We were poor, especially in the first half. I have to look back on it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

The win over Forest put Villa eight points ahead of sixth-placed United and five ahead of Tottenham

‘The second half was better, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough today. They are a top team, it is never easy away from home, but the defeat was down to our performance today.

‘We know we have quality in the team and belief. Everyone is so committed to our game plan every week. There were parts of our game that were very good, but they didn’t detract from the score.”