Aston Villa have been handed an injury boost ahead of their upcoming Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest on Monday.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from the Express & Star, Matty Cash has returned to training and is pushing to be involved in the game against Forest.
The right-back has been out of action since last month as a result of a hamstring injury he picked up during Villa’s 1-1 draw against Manchester City in early September.
Prior to that clash against Pep Guardiola’s side, the full-back had played every minute of league action for the Midlands club, which shows just how important he is to Steven Gerrard.
Relief for Gerrard
In his six league appearances this season, the Poland international has shown how useful a figure he is for his team in an attacking and defensive sense. For example, Lucas Digne (22) is the only Villa defender to have a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions than Cash (18).
From an attacking point of view, the 25-year-old has carried the ball further towards the opponent’s goal (757 yards) than any other Villa player, while also delivering the joint-third highest number of crosses (15) and having the fourth-highest number of live-ball passes which have led to a shot at goal (nine).
With the Villans currently having the joint-third lowest number of shot-creating actions (125) in the Premier League this season, this suggests that having the defender available again could help them out in that area of their game.
Bearing in mind how Villa currently have Digne and Ludwig Augustinsson out injured, having Cash back in the team could allow Ashley Young to fill in at left-back for the time being.
Taking all that into account, it will surely be a massive relief to Gerrard to have the Poland right-back in training and in with a chance of playing on Monday night, in a match where Villa will undoubtedly be targeting three points against the Premier League’s bottom club.
