Aston Villa defender Andres Garcia has reportedly sustained a fresh injury setback after suffering a hamstring issue in training on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old joined us from Levante in January last year, but due to a string of injury troubles, he has been limited to just 15 appearances for the club thus far.
While his involvement has largely been limited by the ongoing reliability and consistency of Matty Cash as our first-choice right-back, Unai Emery would undoubtedly want to have the Spaniard available as a back-up option to rest Cash through the course of the campaign, but he has been unable to do that given he has missed so many games.
Want more Villa news? Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
As per The Athletic, Garcia sustained his latest hamstring injury in training on Tuesday, and the Spanish defender will now undergo further tests to discover the full extent of the blow.
That will force Emery to consider the likes of Lamare Bogarde, Ezri Konsa and Victor Lindelof at right-back in case Cash is unavailable, but it’s hoped that he can stay healthy and continue to play a positive role in our push for success in the latter stages of the season.
While it’s unfortunate and Garcia will be more frustrated than anyone that he continues to struggle to avoid injury woes, it does raise the question mark over whether or not he can be our second choice option moving forward in the long run as we need reliable options who can help us compete across multiple fronts over the course of a gruelling campaign.
Villa youngster Triston Rowe is currently impressing on loan at Annecy and so perhaps he could be considered next year, while there is also the possibility that we delve into the transfer market to address the issue.
That said, much will depend on Garcia’s ability to stay fit when he recovers from his latest setback, and in turn if he can convince Emery and Villa that he remains the best solution behind Cash when we start planning for the summer transfer window.
