Matty Cash and John McGinn look on prior to the Premier League match between Brentford and Aston Villa at Gtech Community Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)placeholder image
Matty Cash and John McGinn look on prior to the Premier League match between Brentford and Aston Villa at Gtech Community Stadium on August 23, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Aston Villa full-back Matty Cash was forced during international duty.
Aston Villa are set to be sweating on another senior player for their trip to Everton.
Unai Emery’s men travel to Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday after the international break, having endured a lacklustre start to the 2025-26 season. Villa have collected only one point from their opening three games and suffered a 3-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace last time out.
In contrast, Everton have won their past three matches in all competitions, including a 3-2 triumph at Wolverhampton Wanderers before the hiatus of the campaign.
It remains to be seen whether goalkeeper Emi Martinez is brought back into the fold. The Argentina international was omitted from the Palace loss as he hoped to land a move to Manchester United on summer transfer deadline day. A switch did not materialise.
Andres Garcia has not featured in any of Villa’s fixtures this term. But a player who has very much been in Emery’s plans has been Matty Cash. The full-back has started every game so far and impressed for Poland in their two games. He netted the equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands before breaking the deadlock in a 3-1 win over Finalnd.
However, Cash had to be replaced at half-time after suffering severe bruising. Poland boss Jan Urban said via Przegląd Sportowy Onet: “He suffered a severe bruise from the foul, after which he was assisted by doctors and physiotherapists. It was a typical knee strike to the quadriceps muscle. The longer you run with something like that, the more it starts to harden.
“He was already limping at the end of the first half. Despite this, he wanted to continue playing. I personally convinced him to make a substitution. I substituted him at half-time, and I think it was a good decision, both mine and his, as he agreed to be substituted and wasn’t stubborn about continuing to play. Well, he wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I’ve had injuries like that myself. It’s only a matter of time before you can’t run anymore.”
Cash will face further assessment when he returns to Villa training.
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