Unai Emery, Aston Villa’s head coach, has indicated that he will make a late decision on whether Emi Martinez will be eligible to face Brighton on Sunday.
Martinez suffered a hamstring injury during Villa’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea last Saturday, and was replaced at halftime by Robin Olsen. He was already suspended for Thursday’s Europa League semi-final first leg against Olympiacos.
Villa will workout on Saturday before heading to the south coast, and if Martinez feels confident, he might start at the Amex. Youri Tielemans was also injured last Saturday and was replaced in the first half due to a groin ailment, although it was not as serious as initially thought.
Asked about team news,he said: “Tomorrow is the training session we can have more information on players who played yesterday and others who had small injuries. Until tomorrow it is impossible to know it.
“Tomorrow is the key day. In case he [Martinez] will feel comfortable and without risk, he could be available.”
Left-back Alex Moreno has been missing from action since Villa’s 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium due to a calf injury, while Nicolo Zaniolo returned to the matchday squad on Thursday after missing two games due to an injury picked up in the Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg against Lille in France last month.
Jacob Ramsey, Boubacar Kamara, Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings will not feature in the final weeks of the campaign.
