Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings has admitted he is delighted to be back in the fold and believes 12 months out through injury has helped him become a “better person”.
The defender joined Bournemouth, who are priced at 4.00 to be relegated, ahead of the 2015-16 campaign but was stretchered off six minutes into his debut.
The 23-year-old suffered a serious knee injury and subsequently missed the club’s first ever season in the Premier League.
Mings has been working his way back to full fitness over the summer and made his long-awaited return in Warren Cummings’ testimonial match against AC Milan on Saturday.
Eddie Howe was happy with his defensive options last season but will soon have a selection headache as Mings looks to force his way into contention.
The former Ipswich man feels that he has learned a lot about himself during his year-long absence and hopes he can use that to his advantage when he finally gets his chance to return to action competitively.
Mings said: “I have learnt a lot mentally and physically, I’m probably in a better place.
It’s nice to be back in the fold, back playing and injury-free.
“There was a lot of two steps forward one step back throughout the process, but I would not change it for the world and for the experience I’m probably a better person for it.”
Howe must also decide on his midfield for the clash with West Brom this weekend following the arrival of Jack Wilshere on loan from Arsenal.
Wilshere turned out for 45 minutes against AC Milan and Howe has admitted the Cherries are still trying to find out how to get the best out of their new recruit.
Howe said: “We are looking forward to working with him [Jack Wilshere] and getting to know him better.
We see him as an attacking midfielder and somebody to do damage on the opposition goal.”
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