Martínez, Malen & Onana: Latest Aston Villa injury news ahead of Cardiff tie

Aston Villa will hope to bounce back from a chastening defeat away to Crystal Palace when they face Championship side Cardiff City in the fifth round of the FA Cup – but Unai Emery has a whole host of potential injury problems to contend with ahead of Friday evening’s game.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, winner of the Yashin Trophy for the past two years, was added to a lengthening list of potential casualties when he was hauled off at half-time of the Palace match with an injury, while key players such as Amadou Onana and Tyrone Mings are also working through injury concerns.

We’ve got the latest on all of those players’ conditions below along with as Emery faces the prospect of playing for a place in the sixth round of the world’s oldest cup competition without as many as eight first-team players.

Martínez among doubts for Cardiff clash

Argentine goalkeeper Martínez reportedly picked up a minor hamstring injury during training last week but was eventually cleared fit to play against Palace after coming through the warm-up intact – but eventually had to be taken off at half-time after experiencing further discomfort.

The injury is not believed to be a serious one, with stories from South America suggesting that any absence will be brief, but Emery described Martínez as a “doubt” to face Cardiff during his pre-match press conference. Robin Olsen will deputise if Martínez is rested.

Emery also described centre-half Mings as a doubt – he has been battling a small but persistent knee issue and only made it as far as the bench against Palace, although the Villa manager didn’t confirm that it was the knee which was causing the problem.

Pau Torres continues to be unavailable thanks to a broken metatarsal which has now kept him out of action for nearly two months – he is expected to return to the side in early or mid-March. Matty Cash, meanwhile, may also miss out after he picked up an unknown injury in the recent 2-1 win over Chelsea. Emery described both players as “close”, adding that he “will see this afternoon” whether Cash can be cleared to play.

Malen ‘sick’ as Onana and Kamara near returns

Emery revealed a further blow on Thursday when he told reporters that January signing Donyell Malen, who was picked up from Borussia Dortmund for a fee reportedly rising to around £21.5m, was “sick”.

Emery didn’t tell the media exactly what was causing the Dutchman to be under the weather but added that “hopefully he can recover for tomorrow… being sick is different, but it depends.”

Two players who could put in unexpected appearances are midfielders Amadou Onana and Boubacar Kamara. Both midfielders are recovering from recent hamstring issues and prior to the Palace match Emery had suggested that both players were two to three weeks away from returning, but he now suggests that both players are “close to coming back” and would be assessed following training on Thursday.

That pleasant surprise aside, Emery did also confirm that Ross Barkley, who has been struggling with a calf injury, wasn’t going to be back in the match day squad just yet, saying that the former Everton man was “not for tomorrow.”