Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara reported back to Bodymoor Heath on Monday as he continues his recovery from injury.
The 24-year-old suffered a serious knee injury in February and has been sidelined since, as he underwent his rehabilitation work and will be receiving ongoing treatment alongside a recovery plan.
READ MORE: Triple boost as Villa players begin to return for pre-season training
Given his influence on the side in midfield, particularly from a defensive perspective but also with his technical ability, composure and class on the ball, his absence was a real blow in the latter stages of last season and it was certainly felt by others as our performance level and results dipped.
Although the expectation is that the French international is still months away from being in a position to return to action, there was great news on Monday as some of the players returned to the training ground to begin pre-season preparations.
As seen in the video below from VillaTV, Kamara was shown doing gym work as he continues on his recovery path, and it’s hoped that everything is going as planned and he’s on schedule for his return.
Neither Villa nor Unai Emery have offered a timeline on that comeback as of yet, but with the squad back in for pre-season and Villa preparing for media duties in the coming weeks, it’s hoped that we’ll be given a rough timeline to understand how long we’ll have to cope without our midfield general.
Day one of 2024/25 is in the books. ✅ pic.twitter.com/iTMx4GowXP
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) July 8, 2024
Our midfield will look a lot different to start the new Premier League campaign given Douglas Luiz has departed to join Juventus too, while Villa have brought in Enzo Barrenechea and Ross Barkley thus far to bolster that area of the squad.
It remains to be seen if any further reinforcements arrive to complement the likes of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans, but although it will be a massive blow to go through the early part of the new season without Kamara, his return will be huge for us as we look to solidify our place in the top four in the Premier League, while also looking to be competitive in the Champions League and compete in the domestic cups.