Unai Emery has supplied Aston Villa with an encouraging update on the fitness of Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings ahead of Arsenal.
Aston Villa have welcomed seven players to the club this summer but once centre-back Tyrone Mings and midfielder Boubacar Kamara return, they too will feel like new signings.
Mings has been sidelined with a horrible injury since the opening day of last season, injuring his ACL just 31 minutes into the clash at St James Park.
As a captain figure and dominant defensive presence on the pitch, Mings has been a huge miss to Unai Emery but the 31-year-old has since returned to training after recovering from surgery.
Another player who has been injured for months is Kamara. The French defensive midfielder ruptured his ACL in February’s defeat against Manchester United.
An October return date was initially set for the 24-year-old, who played a crucial role for Villa last term, but Emery has since supplied a positive update on both Mings and Kamara.
- READ MORE: Chris Sutton goes against his gut feeling with bold Aston Villa vs Arsenal score prediction
Unai Emery shares positive Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings injury update
Speaking ahead of Villa’s clash against Arsenal on Saturday evening, Emery shared promising updates on the injured duo.
According to the Spaniard, Mings is still training alone but he’s ‘close’ to doing something with the team while Kamara is ‘progressing a lot’ and could commence training in the coming weeks.
Emery said via X: “[Boubacar] is progressing a lot…And, more or less, in a few weeks he will start training with us.
“[Tyrone] is close to starting to do something with the team. Now he’s working alone but he’s feeling very good.”
Kamara returned to the grass a couple of weeks ago to carry out individual running work and has made a miraculous comeback from a horrible injury.
For supporters anticipating their return to action, this is exciting news, as the duo look set to play a massive part for Aston Villa this season.
Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara are so important
Mings and Kamara both possess qualities that provide Emery with so much importance in his squad.
While the Englishman is a born leader and commands his defence expertly, his French teammate is an expert at shielding the backline.
The defensive attributes of Kamara were missed towards the end of last season, as there was no natural replacement for him, while for Mings, his leadership was needed to stop Villa from leaking goals.
With the Villans set to embark on a Champions League campaign, it feels like Emery is getting back two missing pieces of his jigsaw and they will feel like new signings.
Kamara, in particular, showed how much he was missed when he was absent from the side last term and the role he plays in midfield is invaluable.
Supporters will be excited to see him play alongside Amadou Onana, with the duo poised to form an incredible midfield partnership.
