Aston Villa did not totally emerge from the international break completely unscathed from injury, as starting right back Matty Cash had to be subbed off while on international duty for Poland. Cash scored in both matches of the FIFA window, but in the second clash against Finland, he suffered a quadriceps injury and had to come off at halftime.
The good news is, it’s just a bad bruise, which came on a hard foul.
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He’ll be fine, and his subbing off was just precautionary. The player’s father allayed any fears of any potential serious injury.
“Everything is fine with his health,” the father of Matty Cash said to Sport.pl. “In the match against Finland, he had a minor problem with a muscle strain, which is why he had to come off at half-time.
“The manager didn’t want to take any chances. However, as far as I know, it won’t affect his next Premier League match. He should be ready to play this weekend.”
Elsewhere Andres Garcia (the very mysterious unspecified, undisclosed problem) remains sidelined while Ross Barkley (still building up match fitness) may get the chance to play against his former side here.
Or he may not, as it’s a 50/50 proposition pretty much. And then finally, Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana (both hamstring) are also in the same boat- facing late fitness tests in order to make the matchday squad.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter