ASTON VILLA’S Lucy Staniforth is to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle issue, boss Carla Ward announced today.

Ward said the 31-year-old, who has 17 England caps, is set for surgery after suffering the “bizarre” injury in the warm-up prior to last week’s League Cup match against Sunderland.

Since then Villa have also lost Staniforth’s fellow midfielder Laura Blindkilde Brown, with the youngster joining Manchester City on transfer deadline day.