Amid the excitement and anticipation of seeing our new signings this summer, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will also be itching to get a trio of key players back on the pitch in pre-season.
Both Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia missed the entire campaign last year after suffering serious knee injuries, with the latter sustaining his setback on the eve of the season in training while his teammate was sidelined after the opening weekend.
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Given their presence, influence and ability to make a key impact for us, they were both big misses for Emery, despite the fact that the Villa boss was able to find solutions and guide us through a memorable season in which we reached new heights with a fourth-place finish in the Premier League and a semi-final run in the Europa Conference League.
Nonetheless, had we had Mings and Buendia available to make a vital contribution and add competition and depth to help us compete on multiple fronts through to the end of a gruelling year, who knows what we might have been able to achieve.
Further, Jacob Ramsey was limited to just 21 appearances last season due to ongoing injury woes, and given how the 23-year-old flourished under Emery in the second half of the previous campaign, he was a huge absence for us too.
Conversely, had he not been injured, we may not have signed Morgan Rogers in January and witnessed his impressive initial impact and how he’ll turn out to be a brilliant addition, but Ramsey remains a pivotal option for Emery, and similarly to his two teammates discussed above, we may well have achieved more had he been a consistent presence in the squad.
That’s now in the past though, and as the Villa trio continue to put in hard work this summer to complete their respective recoveries and rehabilitation, the hope is that they will all be in a position to return for pre-season next week at Bodymoor Heath, and be a full participant in group sessions.
That in turn will set them up perfectly for our upcoming pre-season schedule, the bulk of which will be spent in USA again, and it’s absolutely fundamental that they get consistent playing time and build up their minutes this summer in order to be ready for the new season.
It will not only give them a chance to improve their conditioning and fitness, but that sharpness and familiarity with playing at a high tempo and intensity is crucial for them to perform at the level that they’re capable of again, and so it’s hoped that they can do that with no late setbacks in the coming weeks.
Buendia and Ramsey have been training in Portugal together over the past week as they look to arrive back for pre-season training in top condition, and so not only will it be a huge boost just to see them back at the training ground with the rest of the squad for the start of pre-season, but it’s hoped that they’re ready to once again play a massive part in Villa’s push for progress and success under Emery.
As for Mings, he’s been back out in the US this summer to continue his recovery work, and with his leadership and character making him a key voice in the dressing room, it will give the group a big lift to see him return to the fold too.
Not only will they fill out the squad and give us competition to drive up standards, but on the basis of what we saw from them under Emery before injuries struck, they are more than capable of making a major impact for us both in terms of playing style and results, and there is real excitement over seeing them in action again.
