Key Aston Villa man battling to be fit for Leeds clash

The Poland international has missed the last two matches with a knee injury sustained in a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth earlier in the month.

Cash has been targeting this weekend’s match with Leeds for his return date but it is believed his participation currently remains in the balance.

Boss Unai Emery will not take any undue risks with the 28-year-old, with Villa entering a key four-week period before next month’s international break.

Saturday’s visit of Leeds is followed by a West Midlands derby at Wolves next Friday night, with Villa then facing back-to-back league fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United, their closest rivals in the race for a top-four finish.

Emery’s men also play a two-legged tie in the last-16 of the Europa League around those fixtures. They will discover their opponents next week following the completion of the competition’s play-off round.

Cash has been among Villa’s most consistent performers this season, starting all but two of their Premier League matches.

Lamare Bogarde, who has deputised at right-back in Cash’s absence, is ready to step in again if required, while Emery has also been boosted by the return to fitness of Andres Garcia.

Villa’s players returned to Bodymoor Heath on Tuesday to begin preparations for Saturday’s match, after being granted two days’ rest by the manager following last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Newcastle.

While the Cup exit was a disappointment, Emery has stressed to his squad they still have plenty to play for this season both domestically and in Europe.

The next few weeks are seen as key to setting things up for the final run-in and the anticipated returns of John McGinn and Youri Tielemans from injury.

Villa are hopeful skipper McGinn could be back at some point next month after undergoing minor surgery on a knee injury. Tielemans, who suffered an ankle injury in last month’s win at Newcastle, is expected back in April.