Tyrone Mings vows to return to Aston Villa stronger

Villa defender Tyrone Mings has vowed to return stronger after being ruled out for most of the season with a serious knee injury.

Mings will undergo surgery after scans confirmed he damaged knee ligaments in Saturday’s 5-1 defeat at Newcastle. Villa hope he will return to training in the spring, though it is possible he could miss the whole campaign.

The 30-year-old thanked fans for their support on social media and added: “From the day I came here on loan I’ve given everything on the pitch, I’ll now give everything off the pitch to come back even better, whilst supporting the team.”

Villa, who lost Emi Buendia to a knee ligament injury last week, are close to agreeing a deal for Galatasaray attacker Nicolo Zaniolo. The Italy international will join initially on loan, with a £22million option to buy.