Aston Villa defender Matty Cash was absent for our 3-3 draw with Liverpool on Monday night due to a fresh injury setback.
The 26-year-old failed to make the Villa matchday squad altogether despite having started our previous three Premier League outings, as well as playing an important role in Europe.
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In turn, it was another disappointing setback in a season where we’ve struggled with injuries all year, and it was later confirmed that the Polish international had sustained another blow.
As per the Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, it was noted that Cash had suffered a calf injury in training and was subsequently ruled out of facing Liverpool.
It remains to be seen if he can recover in time for Sunday’s season finale at Crystal Palace, with Villa potentially still needing a positive result at Selhurst Park to secure fourth place in the Premier League table and in turn, Champions League football next season.
While we were able to secure a dramatic and thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool despite trailing 3-1 just after half-time, it’s hoped that Cash and others can recover in time for the weekend to give Unai Emery as many options as possible.
When the Villa defender is absent, our lack of depth forces Ezri Konsa to shift across to right-back in what is a less comfortable role for him, and so it arguably negatively impacts the balance of our backline in both phases of the game.
With that in mind, Cash’s return against Palace will be crucial to give us depth and a different tactical option for Emery to utilise if needed, albeit it’s hoped that results elsewhere go our way this week and ultimately Sunday’s outcome proves to be irrelevant.
Nevertheless, given it’s our final game of the season, it would be such a boost to see players return from injury after Youri Tielemans made a positive impact on Monday night, with Alex Moreno and Nicolo Zaniolo potentially the only other two options to make it as our other longer-term absentees are unlikely to feature.