Aston Villa full-back Andres Garcia sustained a hamstring injury in training and will undergo further scans to learn the extent of the issue.
Garcia, who has been limited to just 59 minutes of game-time this season due to a previous hamstring issue in the summer, suffered the injury in training on Tuesday. The severity of the injury has not yet been determined, with further scans in the coming days expected to provide an accurate timeframe.
The 23-year-old only just returned to the matchday squad last week after missing five matches with a thigh issue. If Garcia is set for another period on the sidelines, it will mean manager Unai Emery will only have one archetypal right-back available, with Matty Cash his first choice in the position.
However, midfielder Lamare Bogarde has shown he is capable of deputising at right-back when Cash has not been available this season, most notably away at Arsenal in December. Bogarde playing at full-back, though, would further weaken Villa in central midfield, considering Emery remains without Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn.
Garcia arrived from Levante in January 2025 in a deal worth €7million, but has made just 15 appearances for the club.
“We signed him last year with the potential he had, and is still having to exploit here,” Emery told reporters in January, when asked about the former Spain under-21 international. “We believe we can do a plan with him to adapt with us and play at the level we need for the rest of the season and in different competitions.”
Garcia’s recurrence of the hamstring issue will put further pressure on a squad depleted by injuries and going through a dip in form, following just one win in the previous matches in all competitions.
Cash has been among the Premier League’s best full-backs this term, but has only just returned after missing two games with a knee injury.
Villa sit third in the Premier League ahead of Friday’s trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers before hosting Chelsea on Wednesday, March 4.