In extremely promising news, both Tyrone Mings and Boubacar Kamara have appeared for Villa’s Under-21’s in a game against Newcastle’s youngsters today. Mings missed all of Villa’s 2023/24 campaign after suffering ACL injury in the club’s opening-day defeat to Newcastle last season. That injury came just days after Emi Buendia sustained the same injury in training. Kamara would go on to be the third ACL the club suffered, sustaining his in a February defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League.
ROAD TO RECOVERY
It’s been a particularly long road back for Mings, with the 31-year-old having been out for a lengthy 14 months. That’s a long time to not be playing elite level football and much has happened in that time. Mings was part of the side that improved drastically following Unai Emery’s arrival in B6 and which would go on to qualify for the Europa Conference League against all expectations in 2022/23.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it transpired, Mings didn’t make it past the opening day away trip to Newcastle and wouldn’t feature as Villa continued to evolve, eventually finishing in 4th to reach the Champions League and only falling to defeat against Olympiacos at the semi-final stage. Emery was forced to bolster his side’s defensive options by moving to secure cover in the form of Barcelona central defender Clement Lenglet on a season-long loan.
Mings will be a welcome sight back in the squad, particularly as he is one of few remaining amongst the squad connecting a golden thread to Villa’s rise from The Championship. Getting fit will certainly be the imposing defender’s priority and given the fixture congestion the season, it can only be assumed he’ll have his part to play.
Boubacar Kamara, so impressive since his arrival, has been another big miss and will bring back quality strength in depth in central midfield. Again, given the sheer amount and variety of opposition that Villa will face competing on multiple fronts, Kamara will certainly be called into action. Emery’s hand was forced with the sale of Douglas Luiz to Juventus in the close season, and whilst well-liked amongst supporters, few could deny that the French international Kamara doesn’t offer equally capable attributes.
Kamara and Mings played 45 minutes in the U21 fixture, in which Newcastle U21s ran out 3-2 winners.