Aston Villa midfielder Boubacar Kamara believes that he is now back up to speed after recovering from a serious knee injury

Unai Emery expects to see the "best Bouba" for Aston Villa, with the French midfielder admitting he is back up to speed after recovering from his latest serious knee injury.

Boubacar Kamara missed the second half of last season after being forced off in the first half of Villa’s 2-1 win at Tottenham in the FA Cup third round in January.

He returned to full training during pre-season and has been a mainstay of the team this season, starting all but one of the club’s first 10 matches across all competitions.

“I have dealt with this long injury. I feel good,” he said ahead of Villa’s match against Viking FK. “I needed time to recover my fitness and the rhythm of training and games. Now I feel better. My recovery after the games [is good], so I am happy.”

Kamara’s new midfield partner is Joao Gomes, who was signed for £35 million to replace Youri Tielemans, who joined Manchester United in July.

Asked about Gomes’ adaptation, Kamara said: “Every midfielder we have knows how the manager wants us to play. With Youri and Joao, it is really the same. But we need time to get better and know each other better. Every midfielder is the same in this team.”

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Tielemans was one of a number of players who left Villa in the summer, with Emery welcoming 10 new arrivals to bolster his squad after losing more than half of the starting XI that featured against SC Freiburg in the Europa League final.

“There was a lot of change, a lot of people and players left. We are happy with the new players, they are fantastic,” Kamara added. “They work a lot and they understand how the manager wants to play, so we are happy.”

Emery, meanwhile, is hopeful that Kamara will rediscover his best form in the coming weeks after showing signs of improvement against Fenerbahce and Newcastle last week.

“He was so, so unlucky. He had two very bad injuries. He came back strongly the first time. Now, the second time, he is getting his fitness progressively. He has improved a lot of things. I am expecting again the best Bouba, with his qualities, maturity and his intelligence.

“He is a good professional, so he has a lot of positive things to improve and to get his best for the next weeks, months, years, hopefully with us in his career.”