Aston Villa have been handed excellent news on the injury and fitness front as Unai Emery has provided a positive update on key trio Tyrone Mings, Boubacar Kamara and Emiliano Buendia.
With our Champions League campaign getting underway next week coupled with the start of the Carabao Cup and our ongoing Premier League ambitions, Emery will need a deep squad at his disposal this season to cope with the challenge of trying to compete on multiple fronts.
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We saw how injuries and fatigue damaged our aspirations last year as we ultimately crawled over the finish line having suffered significant setbacks, and that was clearly a point of emphasis this past summer to address those issues in the transfer window and assemble a stronger and deeper group.
Given the signings made, it’s hoped that we’ve achieved that objective, and we’re seemingly on the verge of receiving a vital triple boost too, as we’ll have key injured players returning from their setbacks to make an important contribution in the coming weeks and months.
“Very good news, very good news. They are starting to train with us Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara as well,” Emery told reporters, as per BirminghamLive.
“Emi Buendia is of course getting more time and he is close to start playing again in official matches with us. Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara I think in a few weeks will be available to be in the squad and start playing as well.”
Buendia impressed for our U21s at the start of this month as he scored twice in a 75-minute appearance, and so that would undoubtedly have been a very useful outing for the Argentine playmaker to regain his match fitness and sharpness, with a view of returning at senior level in the near future.
Having missed the entire season last year after suffering a serious knee injury, it was great to see Buendia get minutes and look sharp, and he’ll certainly have an important role to play for us this season with his creativity and attacking flair in the final third offering a different dynamic and threat to our play.
As for Mings and Kamara, beyond their obvious quality, leadership and influence, we will no doubt need that additional competition at the back with Mings offering depth in that left-sided centre-half role behind Pau Torres.
While Villa do look a lot stronger in midfield after the signings of Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley this summer, Kamara is a fundamental figure for us in both phases when he’s on the pitch, and so it will be a massive lift to have him back on the pitch. Further, with his versatility to play in different positions, he could offer an important presence that’s not just limited to our midfield pivot.
Getting our injured players back will really give us a crucial boost, and it’s great to hear that we’re not far away from seeing Mings, Kamara and Buendia all become involved again.
