Aston Villa centre-back Tyrone Mings is fit and available for selection against Southampton on Saturday, manager Dean Smith has confirmed to the club’s official website.
The impressive enforcer missed Villa’s 3-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last weekend due to tonsillitis, but returned to training this week.
“Tyrone is fine. He had tonsillitis but he was back training on Wednesday. He’s a big player for us so it was a big miss on Sunday. He has the qualities to be a real leader.
Dean Smith on Tyrone Mings
Villa travel to Southampton on Saturday in desperate need of three points with the club just one point above the relegation zone.
Smith will be glad to welcome back Mings as we approach the business end of the season, with the centre-half a crucial figure for the Birmingham-based outfit.
The Villa boss also delivered positive injury updates on Keinan Davis and John McGinn, though neither of them are fit enough to feature this weekend.
Davis is expected to return to training with the team on Monday and McGinn has started work in the gym – both should be back on the field in the next few weeks.
“Keinan Davis will start training on Monday, John McGinn has been running on the Alter-G and will be looking to run on the grass at the weekend, but we’re taking it day-by-day.”
Dean Smith on Davis and McGinn
Wesley Moraes (knee), Tom Heaton( knee), and Jed Steer (calf) are long-term absentees for Smith’s side and are out of contention.
Southampton won the reverse fixture 3-1 but Villa have hope in the fact that the Saints have the worst home record in the division with just 11 points after 13 matches at St. Mary’s stadium.
Both Villa and Southampton will be looking to get back to winning ways after losing their last two matches each.
