Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has delivered positive news on both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara, as the influential duo are now on the verge of making their respective comebacks from injury.
Mings, 31, has been sidelined since the first game of last season after suffering a serious knee injury, while Kamara has been out of action since February, after sustaining a similar injury of his own.
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Their respective absences have been a blow for Emery given how important they are to the team with their quality and leadership on and off the pitch, and they certainly were missed despite our brilliant campaign last year.
Fortunately, it sounds as though they’re both now on the verge of making their returns, as Emery delivered an update in his pre-Ipswich Town press conference on Friday and confirmed that they will hopefully be available for selection after the upcoming international break.
“They are training very well,” he said in his pre-match media conference. “They started to be with us 100% completely during training sessions last week.
“And the plan with them is to try and start playing with our Under-21s next week, 45 minutes.
“And, more or less, after the break they will be available, should everything go well, to be with us.”
Both Mings and Kamara will face stiff competition for a starting berth on their return, with Pau Torres and Amadou Onana establishing themselves as key figures in the Villa side while they have been sidelined.
Nevertheless, as we look to compete across multiple competitions this season, we need competition and depth, and so there will certainly be opportunities not only for them to play, but to also establish themselves as integral parts in our potential success this season and beyond.
Given how long they’ve been out for though, it will be a process to get back up to speed and regain match fitness and sharpness at the top level, and so their integration is likely to be gradual with plenty of patience needed. It undoubtedly also makes sense to give them minutes with the U21s first too, as we recently saw with Emiliano Buendia, who seemingly benefitted from that run-out before making his senior return.
That said, it will be a brilliant boost to see them back in action in the coming weeks, and it will hopefully strengthen us further in our bid to build on last season and go to the next level.
