Tyrone Mings’ injury is not a big worry, says Villa boss Emery as his side prepare to face Celtic in the Champions League.
Tyrone Mings’ injury scare is not as serious as expected, if manager Unai Emery is to be believed.
Tyrone Mings’ emotional response to his most recent knee injury against West Ham on Sunday has allayed Unai Emery’s concerns about another protracted layoff for the Aston Villa defender. The Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey refuted Emery’s suggestion that Mings will play Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Mings left early in the 1-1 draw with West Ham, crying. The 31-year-old has experienced two anterior cruciate ligament injuries in addition to ongoing knee issues. It makes sense that spectators and the England international himself were afraid of the worst on Sunday.
“It is not a big injury,” Emery, the Villa manager, said of Mings’s condition. “But every day is going to be important to see if he feels better or worse. When we play lots of matches, this is the difficulty we have.”
Mings was not in pictures at the pre-Celtic training session on Tuesday afternoon, despite Emery planning to assess him there. “We are going to decide how every player is feeling,” Emery said.
“We have Lamare Bogarde in the squad as well, he is training every day and competing very well. Sil [Swinkels] is another option because he is training with us, but we are thinking of letting him leave on loan. I think he will need more experience to get minutes.
“We have enough players to compete and feel confidence. For example, Lucas Digne is left-footed and is an experienced player. He can feel confident [playing at centre-back]. Firstly, if Tyrone Mings is available then he could play, but if not, Bogarde – who has usually played in midfield – he is training sometimes as a centre-back. I am confident and I believe in the squad we have.”