Matty Cash picked up what appeared to be a hamstring injury in Aston Villa’s goalless draw with Brighton on Saturday and had to be replaced by Ahmed Elmohamady on the hour mark.
Dean Smith is hoping that it’s nothing serious but has said that the 23-year-old will be assessed ahead of next Sunday’s clash against Leicester. With Frederic Guilbert loaned out to Strasbourg in January, the Egyptian will likely get the nod if Cash is ruled out.
Smith told Birmingham Live: “He’s got a hamstring injury, we think. He was doing a Cruyff-turn on the touchline and got tackled at the same time and just felt his hamstring. It can happen, certainly in these conditions with the cold weather as well. It’s too early to assess how bad.”
Cash has made 21 Premier League appearances this season, missing only one top-flight game since joining on a five-year deal from Nottingham Forest last year. No player in the Villa squad has made more tackles or interceptions than Cash, and only Jack Grealish has recorded a higher number of accurate crosses (WhoScored), so Villa will certainly miss the defender.
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Cash is a key player for Smith and a signing of the season contender for Villa, but at least Elmohamady is a good deputy at right-back.
Smith is happy to call upon the 33-year-old as backup, which is why Guilbert was granted a temporary move, so Villa should be able to cope if Cash doesn’t make it in time for the Leicester game.
There is still a chance that Cash could recover in time for Sunday, so there’s no guarantee just yet that he will miss out.
