Aston Villa were dealt a huge blow in Saturday’s defeat against Arsenal as Matty Cash was forced off with an injury in the first 15 minutes.
Cash started at right-back for the second game running but his evenings’ action was cut short when he went down clutching his hamstring.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery then replaced Cash with 18-year-old defender Kosta Nedeljkovic, who impressed for the Villans in pre-season and largely held his own against Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli.
That soon changed, though, when Leandro Trossard replaced the Brazilian in the second half and he opened the scoring with his first touch in the 67th minute.
Arsenal went on to win the game 2-0, which was a blow to Emery’s men but an even bigger blow was losing Cash to injury, who shared a message to the fans on Instagram after full-time.
How long is Aston Villa’s Matty Cash out for?
Emery’s defensive options at Villa are limited across the board. In central defence, his only senior players are Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne while at right-back, it’s Cash and Nedeljkovic battling for the spot.
Sadly, The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell has revealed that the 27-year-old is set to miss the next month of action, with medical tests since revealing the extent of the injury.
Despite Cash’s recent problems at the back for Villa, having seen his form drop towards the end of last season, he is still going to be a big miss.
Luckily, there is still enough time for the club to source a new right-back, which will perhaps see Monchi make a serious move for Feyenoord’s Lutsharel Geertruida.
When Matty Cash will return from injury and what games he could miss
The Poland international will now miss Saturday’s trip to Leicester City, the Villans final match ahead of the September international break, and the defender is unlikely to be available for home clashes against Wolves and Everton.
To the dismay of Cash and most Villa supporters, the former Nottingham Forest player is likely to miss their first Champions League match, which will be played between 17th-19th September.
The return date eyed up for the ‘outstanding’ attacking full-back is the trip to Ipswich Town on September 29th and by that point, he would have missed at least four matches in all competitions.
With only Nedeljkovic ready to deputize or Konsa, if needed, the injury to Cash has left Emery extremely light on the right side of defence and reinforcements will be required before Deadline Day.
