Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara is 'way ahead of schedule' in his recovery from a knee injury, according to fitness expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Kamara missing for Villa

The 22-year-old completed a move to Villa Park from Marseille during the summer transfer window, but his time at the Midlands club has been frustrating so far.

Kamara has been limited to just seven appearances in the Premier League because of a knee issue and he hasn't featured since the 1-0 win at home to Southampton in mid-September.

Fortunately, it looks as though the midfielder's injury progress is going well, following one update.

The Latest: Positive injury update emerges

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Dinnery claimed that Kamara could return to the fold much sooner than expected. Indeed, there are reports that he could even feature against Manchester United over the coming week.

The injury expert said of the Frenchman:

"The fact that he’s now back at Bodymoor Heath and he could potentially rejoin the first-team in training this week shows that he is way ahead of schedule compared to what was initially anticipated.

"That recovery process has gone really, really well. Even if he doesn’t make this weekend for Aston Villa, I think that final game or maybe even the Carabao Cup fixture before the break could be a good opportunity just to get some minutes in his legs."

The Verdict: Big boost for Villans

This is great news for Unai Emery, who is likely to see Kamara as an important part of his plans at Villa, having taken over from the departed Steven Gerrard.

The fact that he could even be in action before the World Cup is a massive and unexpected boost, as the Villans look to climb up the Premier League table.

Kamara's impressive average of 3.3 tackles per game in the league (the highest among the Villa squad) before his injury is a testament to his tenacity off the ball, and he was described as Villa's best midfielder 'by a mile' by Dan Rollinson earlier in the campaign.

He has also been hailed as 'exceptional' by his national team boss Didier Deschamps, who knows an exceptional player when he sees one, having played in and managed World Cup-winning teams.