Rogers, Zaniolo & Cash: Aston Villa injury news and return dates ahead of Crystal Palace match

Aston Villa will hope to celebrate their remarkable return to the Champions League with a win over in-form Crystal Palace on the final day of the season – but Unai Emery may be missing as many as eight players for Sunday’s match at Selhurst Park.

Matty Cash and Morgan Rogers are among the doubts, while at least four players will certainly miss out on a match which promises to provide something of a party atmosphere regardless of the result.

The good news is that Youri Tielemans and Emiliano Martínez, who had both been doubts ahead of the 3-3 draw against Liverpool on Monday, came through the game without any apparent problems (embarrassing own goals notwithstanding) and should be fit to play. We’ve compiled all of the latest injury news and updates on the other players working through fitness issues below along with their expected return dates.

Morgan Rogers

The young winger has been hugely impressive since joining from Middlesbrough in January, picking up three goals in his first 11 league appearances, but he missed out on the games against Liverpool and Olympiacos thanks to a hamstring injury he picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Emery provided a cagey update after the Liverpool match, telling the media that he would “maybe” be available for Sunday: “With some days to come he can try to be available but I don’t know exactly.”

Matty Cash

The Poland international suffered a calf injury in training ahead of the Liverpool match and missed out on selection as a consequence. The club have yet to provide any updates on the severity of the issue, and as such there are no clear indications as to whether the right-back, who has been dogged by injuries throughout the campaign, will play against Crystal Palace.

Àlex Moreno

Another full-back who has a rough ride with fitness problems of late, the Spaniard has only managed to get onto the field for 30 minutes since the beginning of April thanks to persistent injuries. The club have not disclosed the exact nature of the latest setback but Emery described him as a “maybe” for the Liverpool match, which he eventually missed – implying that there is a very good chance that he’s ready for Sunday.

Nicolò Zaniolo

The Italian winger may have played his last game for the club – his loan spell comes to an end after the game against Palace and he is facing a battle to be fit enough to feature after picking up an injury against Liverpool. He had missed the previous three games ahead of the match at Villa Park and lasted just 14 second-half minutes on this occasion before being replaced by Jhon Durán – which at least worked out well for everyone other than Zaniolo. He is only believed to have sustained a minor knock, but Emery has not offered any concrete updates.

Emiliano Buendía

The versatile Argentine attacker has been absent for the entire season thanks to a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury – but he took a big stride towards recovery when he rejoined team training at Bodymoor on Sunday. He won’t play against Crystal Palace, but it still represents a significant milestone on his road to recovery.

Tyrone Mings

Club captain Mings is another ACL victim – he ruptured his on the opening day of the season against Newcastle United and has been in rehabilitation ever since. He isn’t quite as far along the road to recovery as Buendía but is back in light fitness training and Emery claimed in April that he was “progressing well.” Both players should be available to start the new season.

Boubacar Kamara

The third and final player to suffer a season-ending ACL injury, Kamara underwent surgery in February that ended his campaign. If all goes to plan, the Frenchman should be back in training in September, but he will miss pre-season training at the very least.

Jacob Ramsey

The academy product suffered a serious toe injury back at the beginning of March and has been absent ever since, with Emery confirming that he wouldn’t play again this season in early April. He is expected to be fully fit in time for pre-season exercises.