Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Matty Cash is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring injury against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Smith said (via Birmingham Mail): “Cash will be out, he’s got a hamstring strain I’m not sure the level of grading but it’ll certainly be a few weeks out which is a blow for us.

“But it’s something we’ve been quite capable of dealing with so far. We haven’t had too many injuries but when we have, people have come in and done a job.”

The 23-year-old right-back has been excellent for Villa since his move from Nottingham Forest and his absence will be a major blow for Smith and his side.

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A post shared by Matty Cash (@mattycash622)

It will be interesting to see how Villa cope without their first choice right back in the coming weeks.

Experienced defender Ahmed Elmohamady is expected to take his place in the side this weekend.

Villa will be up against the likes of Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy when they take on Leicester City and Cash could have made a big difference on Sunday.

The west Midlands side have been lucky with injuries this season and they have managed to put out their strongest line-up quite often.

It remains to be seen if they can continue to shine despite their latest injury set back.

Aston Villa are currently 8th in the Premier League table with 36 points from 22 matches. They could break into the top four if they manage to win their two games in hand.

Fourth-placed Chelsea have 42 points from 24 games.

Here is how Villa fans reacted to the news.

This is a blow, we all know traore is a risk defensively and quite often cash has had to deal with 2 players, i don't mind elmo but cash is tough one to replace.

— Savo's Bandana (@BandanaSavos) February 17, 2021

https://twitter.com/NCAVFC/status/1362127006159273995s=20

Overall we've been lucky with injuries this season. Cash will be a huge miss.

— Rob (@robbcorin) February 18, 2021

Can not believe we let Guilbert go on loan. Elmo has been great for us. But not premier standard.

— CraggersUTV (@craggers1286) February 17, 2021

https://twitter.com/BackpostTrez/status/1362132406170509323s=20

This is why it was stupid to let Guilbert go

— Paul Williams (@PippyPants8) February 17, 2021