Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía have both been declared fit for Aston Villa’s Premier League clash against Everton.
Centre-back Mings and attacking midfielder Buendía were both named among the substitutes for last weekend’s season opener at AFC Bournemouth, with the latter appearing off the bench as a half-time substitute.
Speaking to media ahead of Saturday’s clash against the Toffees at Villa Park, head coach Steven Gerrard says the pair are both fit and Villa are in a good place fitness-wise.
“Tyrone had a scan and it showed a little bit of damage in one of his adductor muscles,” said Gerrard.
“Thankfully the damage wasn’t too severe, we gave him a couple of down days on the back of that scan result and he’s trained for the last two days. So he’s available for selection.
“Emi Buendía had a niggle the back end of last week but he’s had a full week going into this.
“The rest (of the squad) we’re fully fit, there’s only Kortney Hause who isn’t available at the moment. He’s back on the grass with the physio but he’s not available for selection.”
Gerrard comes up against former England team-mate Frank Lampard in the dugout as brings his Everton side to the midlands.
The pair faced each other 34 times at club level and enjoyed 71 matches together on the pitch for the Three Lions over more than a decade, lining up in midfield at the World Cup finals in 2006, 2010, 2014.
And as the managerial duo prepare to go head-to-head off the pitch, Gerrard knows they will both be desperate to come out on top.
“I know Frank extremely well, I shared a dressing room with him for many years,” he added.
“He’s a fierce competitor, he’s a winner, very composed, very calm, he’s got a really impressive football IQ.
“I think you could see really early on when I started sharing a dressing room with him that he would probably stay in the game in some capacity.
“So it’s no surprise to see him obviously in a very similar position to myself, trying to lead a big establishment, progress it and move it forward.
“But in terms of competing against each other, whether it be on the pitch or now as a manager, you’ve got two people who will be desperate to be on the winning end.
“I don’t think that will ever change.”
