Aston Villa defender Jores Okore out for season

Jores Okore will miss the rest of the Premier League season after rupturing an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Newcastle on Saturday, Aston Villa have confirmed.

Okore, who joined Villa this summer from Nordsjaelland, was taken off injured half an hour into Saturday's home defeat to Newcastle, and Villa have now said that the Dane, 21, could be out for up to nine months.

"Following clinical examination and the results of an MRI scan, the club can confirm that Jores Okore sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee in the game against Newcastle on Saturday," read a statement on Villa's pfficial website.

"Jores will undergo surgery in due course and he could be sidelined for a period of up to nine months."

Okore's absence is likely to see Ciaran Clark have a run in the team alongside Ron Vlaar in central defence.