Aston Villa journalist Ashley Preece has been sharing some injury news regarding Villa right-back Matty Cash ahead of their Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur.
This comes after Preece made an appearance on a recent episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he spoke about a range of topics concerning Dean Smith’s side including Sunday’s clash against Jose Mourinho’s team.
On the subject of Cash, who has been out of action for several weeks due to a hamstring injury, Preece had this to say on the matter and whether he would be able to start against the north London club on Sunday. (8.18)
He said: “He’s back. He was on the bench against Newcastle. Dean Smith stuck with [Ahmed] Elmohamady. Elmohamady did okay but given Spurs’ pace and power I’d probably say Cash comes back in.
“I think they rested Cash, it was a hamstring issue, they kept him out for a month and didn’t want to rush him back at Newcastle, so they had him on the bench just in case.
“I expect Elmohamady to drop down and Cash to come back in.”
Villa signed Cash in the previous summer transfer window from Championship club Nottingham Forest for £14.18 million.
Since then, the 23-year-old, who is currently valued at £18 million, has made 21 appearances for the Villans in which he has provided two assists in the process (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Ashley Preece’s comments on Cash…
Taking into account how Cash has made more tackles per game (2.6) and interceptions per game (2.3) than any other Villa player so far in the Premier League and earn himself a solid season rating of 7.09/10 (per WhoScored), the highest of any Villa full-back, this shows just how integral he has been for Smith’s side and their defensive line so far in this campaign.
Has Matty Cash been a big miss for Villa?
Yes
No
If Villa can get Cash back in the team for their match against Spurs, this, in our view, will put them in a good position to get a decent result from the game and given the fact that he was on the bench for their 1-1 draw against Newcastle United as Preece mentioned in the podcast, it would make sense for him to be in the squad for the Spurs game.