BOSS Eddie Howe defended on-loan Tyrone Mings after the gruesome incident involving him and Nelson Oliveira.

Mings, making his Aston Villa debut, caught the head of the Reading frontman with his boot as the pair tussled for the ball.

Oliveira required surgery having sustained a broken nose and deep cuts to his face.

The striker yesterday said: “I won't say he (Mings) did it on purpose.

"But what makes me angry and have bad feelings is it's something that could've been avoided."

As the incident was spotted by the match officials at the time, no charges are set to be brought against the former non-league ace.

Mings was banned for five games in March 2017 after stepping on the head of Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic during Cherries’ 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

The towering centre-half insisted it had been an accident, a stance backed by Cherries.

Manager Howe insisted the incidents had to be looked at separately and dismissed any allegations of an intentional stamp.

He said: “I am going to back Tyrone 100 per cent on this.

“The difficulty for him is when you put the two incidences together – people can draw conclusions.

“But I think you have to look at the incidents in isolation. I don’t think you can draw parallels between them.

“He has long levers – very long legs. He is a wholehearted, committed player but in no way has he meant to stamp on either player in either incident.

“I have never seen him do it in any other phase of training or play. His eyes and his focus are always on the ball.

“I feel for the lad that suffered the wounds, no-one likes to see that.”