‘I don’t know’ - Manager reveals key man a major doubt for Aston Villa v Newcastle United FA Cup clash
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Newcastle United latest news: Unai Emery and Aston Villa have another injury concern to deal with ahead of their FA Cup clash with Newcastle United on Saturday.
Unai Emery has revealed he could be without defender Matty Cash for his side’s clash with Newcastle United on Saturday evening (5:45pm kick-off).
Villa host the Magpies with a spot in the Fifth Round of the FA Cup available for the winner. Both teams were victorious in Premier League action in midweek, with Newcastle United triumphing over Tottenham Hotspur 24 hours ahead of Aston Villa’s victory over Brighton.
Villa required an 86th minute own goal from Jack Hinshelwood to overcome the Seagulls as they moved, albeit temporarily, six points behind league leaders Arsenal in the Premier League table. Emery’s side, particularly in midfield, have been decimated with injuries of late, with the Spaniard confirming that a fresh issue affecting Cash was the reason for his omission on Wednesday night.
Speaking about the defender, Emery said: “He was injured, with a small injury,” the former Arsenal manager confirmed to Birmingham World. “I don’t know if he will be available for Saturday. Each day is important for how he is progressing.”
If Cash cannot feature on Saturday, then he will join a long-list of injuries at Villa Park with five of his teammates also ruled-out of featuring against Newcastle United. Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Boubacar Kamara have all been ruled-out of action for the foreseeable future with the latter expected to miss the remainder of the campaign.
Tielemans, meanwhile, is expected to be out until April after suffering an ankle injury during Villa’s win at St James’ Park in the Premier League last month. McGinn, meanwhile, has also been sidelined because of a knee injury.
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Alysson and Andres Garcia are closing in on a return, but neither are expected to be back available to Emery this weekend.
Newcastle United injury news v Aston Villa
Newcastle United, meanwhile, also have a number of injury concerns to deal with this weekend. Their most pressing issue and worry will be surrounding the fitness of Bruno Guimaraes.
The Brazilian has only just returned to action following an ankle injury, but came through Saturday’s defeat against Brentford unscathed. However, he then limped off very late on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night, with Eddie Howe admitting that he wasn’t sure on an initial prognosis on Guimaraes’ injury.
“I'm not sure, he's a little bit worried,” Howe admitted. “I think that he's not sure [because] he said he's never had a problem with his hamstrings before, so is it cramp? Was it a muscle problem? Probably feels more of an injury to me, but let's wait and see.”
Guimaraes’ injury came just hours after it was reported that Lewis Miley’s leg injury may keep him sidelined for another few weeks. Miley hasn’t featured since their spirited draw against PSG in January.
Elsewhere, Fabian Schar and Tino Livramento will also miss out on Saturday through injury. Livramento could be back in March, whilst Schar faces a longer period on the sidelines. Joelinton, who was injured in the league meeting with the Villans last month, is edging his way back to full fitness but is also not expected to feature at Villa Park.