Aston Villa and Unai Emery are currently dealing with a minor injury crisis, as several important first-team players are sidelined for extended periods of time.
Boubacar Kamara was the most recent player to be added to Villa Park’s injury list. Villa confirmed that the French midfielder will probably miss the rest of the season due to a knee ligament injury he suffered during their 11 February loss to Manchester United.
Some have speculated that Villa’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League this season may suffer as a result of Kamara’s absence. Fabrizio Romano has just given supporters more optimism regarding Tyrone Mings’s fitness, though.
Huge news for Aston Villa as the club announces Tyrone Mings’ initial return to training, hoping to be ready and 100% fit as soon as possible, he wrote on his personal X account on Thursday, February 15.
“A good one for Unai Emery following his recent struggles with injured players.”
Since the opening weekend of the season, when the Villans lost 5-1 to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park, Mings has not appeared on the pitch for Emery’s team. He was replaced after just 36 minutes of play. But his return could be a huge asset for Villa in the remaining games of the season.
Is Tyrone Mings able to lead Aston Villa to final four?
The 30-year-old played his final full game for Villa on the last day of the previous campaign, winning 2-1 at home against Brighton. According to stats from Fotmob, Mings played almost flawlessly defensively, winning all of his aerial duels and only giving up a single dribble during the game.
The England international won 75% of his ground duels and recorded an incredible five interceptions in the pivotal draw with Liverpool towards the end of the season, helping Villa keep players like Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, and Mohammed Salah relatively quiet.
According to Fbref, Mings completed fewer tackles last season—averaging 0.43 per game—than 98% of centre backs in the Premier League. Like many Villa defenders, he hardly ever throws himself into challenges.
The defensive shape Villa has had under Emery has been largely attributed to his positioning, though, which allowed him to make an average of 1.54 interceptions per 90 minutes last season—a number that was higher than 81% of his positional peers in the division.
With the ball, the 30-year-old gives the defence an additional dimension by finishing more carries into the last third of the field than 68% of defenders. Mings also ranks in the 86th percentile when it comes to dribbling into the opponent’s penalty area.
This season, Mings’ return could potentially benefit Villa from set pieces because the England defender is a threat in the air. Even though he doesn’t score goals very often, last season he finished in the 80th percentile among defenders in terms of assists per game.
Unai Emery’s Champions League campaign resumes at Villa Park
Although it may take some time for Mings to return to the field at Villa Park, Emery’s team may find that his return will be a game-changing moment for Mings’ season.
There aren’t many options in Emery’s squad right now with Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos out while Pau Torres recovers from an injury. If Mings can get back into the mix “as soon as possible,” as Romano suggested, Villa might be able to make it into the Premier League’s top four.
In other Aston Villa news, Troy Deeney criticised Ollie Watkins, prompting Alan Hutton to urge Emery to sign a new center-forward.
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