Aston Villa duo Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are continuing to close in on a return from injury to provide us with a major boost.
Mings has been absent since the opening game of last season after suffering a serious knee injury, while Kamara sustained his knee setback in February, and has since been sidelined as he recovers.
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Losing them both as well as other key players to injury last season certainly made life more difficult for Unai Emery, but despite the gruelling challenges that the group faced to try and compete across multiple fronts, it still proved to be a successful and memorable campaign, even if we had to eventually crawl over the line.
However, what is clear is that as we target further progress and success this year, it’s imperative that we have as close to a fully-fit squad available to Emery as possible over the course of the season, and it appears as though we’re edging ever closer to that becoming a reality.
While we’ve seen the likes of Emiliano Buendia and Jacob Ramsey return after lengthy absences of their own, Emery has confirmed that both Kamara and Mings are moving towards resuming group training in September.
“Kamara is progressing a lot, I think now is the sixth month since he was injured and he had surgery,” Emery told the media at his pre-Arsenal press conference. “And, more or less, in a few weeks he will start training with us.
“Tyrone Mings is close to start doing something with the team, now he’s working alone but he’s feeling very good.”
It’s hoped that there are no late setbacks for either of the Villa pair and that they can complete their respective recoveries in the coming weeks, as returning to train with the rest of their teammates will not only be a massive lift for them, but for the rest of the group as well as we become increasingly stronger.
Given the leadership, influence and quality of the duo, they will make a big impact regardless of the competition for places that they will face once they are back, and that will in turn help us continue to compete across multiple competitions.
Consolidating our top-four position in the Premier League will be a priority once again, as will giving a competitive and positive account of ourselves in the Champions League as we try to advance as far as possible.
However, ending our wait for silverware is surely on everyone’s minds this season too, and so our strength in depth will be fundamental when it comes to the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
While there will still be key checkpoints for Mings and Kamara to reach before they return to the pitch, getting back to group training will be a massive stage to reach in itself, and we’ll hopefully see that happen in September, as suggested by Emery.
