A journey that has lasted 14 months and spanned more than 21,000 miles may conclude this weekend with Tyrone Mings set to return to the Aston Villa squad.
Mings has been out of action since suffering a serious knee injury at Newcastle on the opening day of the 2023-24 season. Villa lost 5-1, but concerns for one of the team’s natural leaders dominated their thoughts far more than the result.
Mings wouldn’t be human if he hadn’t wondered, even for a short time, if he would ever play at the highest level again.
Because this was more than just a damaged ACL, which would have been bad enough. Mings had also torn cartilage in his knee, which meant he was unable to begin serious ACL rehabilitation work until November last year. The physical toll was one thing. Psychological tension is quite another.
Unai Emery has never wavered in his support for Mings. Even when Mings was far from completing his recovery, Emery wanted to involve him with the first-team group. Apart from Emi Martínez and Mings, Villa is a relatively calm team.
Tyrone Mings is about to return to the Aston Villa team after 14 months out due to injury
Villa centre-back Mings, 31, has been out of action since suffering a serious knee injury at Newcastle on the opening day of the 2023-24 season.
Throughout this long period, Unai Emery has not once wavered in his support for Mings.
In his recovery, Mings has crossed the Atlantic to the clinic of knee expert Bill Knowles.
That’s why Mings has been in the locker room before recent games, traveling to away games and attending Emery’s afternoon video sessions. Emery wanted Mings to feel part of the process even when he couldn’t be on the pitch.
Anyone who watched Villa during the 2020-21 season, when crowds were largely shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will remember Mings’ strident tones echoing through the empty stands. ‘Don’t worry, Cashy!’ he roared after watching Matty Cash drag Harvey Barnes by his shorts during Villa’s 1-0 win at Leicester in October 2020. Mings’ vivid memory is of shouting ‘Ally! We need you!’ against the hapless Mbwana Samatta, while Villa held on to the point against West Ham that ensured their top-flight survival the previous season.
Those memories might even have helped sustain Mings as he contemplated his recovery. Long hours day in and day out at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground. Working out in the gym, action aside, is no longer wise for jokes. Answering the same question. “How’s your knee, Ty?”
Luckily, Mings had an escape route. When he suffered a similar injury while playing for Bournemouth, Mings crossed the Atlantic to the clinic of knee expert Bill Knowles. Knowles is highly respected in American sports for his work with NFL and ice hockey stars and Mings headed to Knowles’ base in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, once again.
Knowles believes the mental impact of a serious knee injury is as important as the physical one. He believes those who have been through the experience before have an advantage because they understand what it takes to return.
During his first meetings with athletes, Knowles will show them examples of peers who have successfully recovered from multiple setbacks. For those who have suffered before, Knowles will talk about the previous rehabilitation process and try to find ways to make it better the second time around.
Mings made three separate visits to Knowles’ clinic during this period of rehabilitation and is said to be in excellent shape, both in mind and body. If Emery had asked him to play in the recent 1-0 win over Bayern Munich, Mings would have had no qualms about doing so, although Emery would never have taken the risk. Since then, Mings has played 45 minutes against Newcastle’s under-21 team and an hour in a behind-closed-doors match against Sheffield Wednesday. The 31-year-old feels ready.
Emery values Mings so much that he decided not to sign an additional centre-back during the summer. The Villa manager had his targets, particularly Lutsharel Geertruida, but when the Dutch defender joined RB Leipzig from Feyenoord, Emery left the ring. There was no point in bringing in a defenseman for the sake of it when he knew Mings was back.
Emery has kept the 31-year-old in the team to help him feel part of the process.
Mings made his long-awaited return in an under-21s clash against Newcastle earlier this month.
Emi Martínez and Mings are the strongest personalities in the Villa team and with the club chasing success on four fronts, Emery is delighted to finally have them both.
It’s a gamble, of course. With neither Mings nor Ezri Konsa in the back four, Villa look much more unstable, with Konsa unable to play for England during the recent international break after injuring a hamstring in the 0-0 draw against Manchester United.
Despite his optimism, it would be difficult for Mings to immediately return to a high-level game and not show rust.
That is why he is unlikely to return to the starting eleven in any of the next three games: against Fulham on Saturday, against Bologna in the Champions League on Tuesday or against Bournemouth at Villa Park on October 26. The Carabao Cup tie against Crystal Palace on October 30 seems ideal, however.
Although John McGinn wears the armband, Martínez and Mings are the strongest personalities on Emery’s team. And with Villa chasing success on four fronts, Emery is delighted to finally be able to call on both.
