Aston Villa defender Matty Cash sustained an injury while on international duty with Poland on Thursday night, handing Unai Emery another potential injury headache.
It’s been a difficult year for Villa with injuries, as aside from long-term absentees Tyrone Mings, Emiliano Buendia and Boubacar Kamara, we’ve seen the likes of Alex Moreno, Jacob Ramsey, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Youri Tielemans and others miss time with knocks.
READ MORE: Long-term Villa injury absentee provides positive update on recovery
Despite that though, we’ve continued to be competitive throughout the campaign, and it had been hoped that we would move closer to having a full-strength squad sooner rather than later for the run-in to end the season.
However, as per the Poland national team’s X account, Cash suffered an injury just 10 minutes after coming on as a substitute in their win over Estonia, giving us another concern heading into our clash with Wolves on March 30.
A video of the incident showed Cash chasing a ball down before it went out of play, but he quickly began to feel his hamstring area and needed treatment.
It’s hoped that a decision was made not to risk him given he felt an issue and so it was more precautionary rather than a damaging setback, but time will tell if he remains on international duty with Poland for the remainder of the break or if he returns to Bodymoor Heath for further assessment and treatment.
Footage later showed the Villa ace walking through the media zone after the game and he didn’t appear to be walking with a significant limp or any assistance, and so we’ll hopefully get an official update on him to allay concerns that he might be sidelined next weekend.
Cash, 26, has made 40 appearances across all competitions so far this season, scoring four goals and providing two assists to go along with his defensive work.
With our lack of options at right-back, an injury to the Polish international would certainly be a significant blow for Emery, as it would likely force him to continue to play Ezri Konsa there, while youngster Kaine Kesler-Hayden will continue to push for an opportunity before the end of the season.
For now though, it’s hoped we get a positive update on Cash ahead of our next outing, and that we don’t suffer any further setbacks or scares during the break.
