Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has acknowledged that goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is a fitness doubt ahead of the club's upcoming fixtures.
On Tuesday night, the West Midlands outfit succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, denting their hopes of Champions League qualification for a second successive season.
Despite now sitting in 10th position in the Premier League table, albeit still just four points adrift of fourth, the biggest blow in the short term involved Martinez.
With Villa trailing 1-0, the Argentina star needed to be withdrawn at half time having sustained an injury during the opening period.
Robin Olsen was subsequently introduced for just his third appearance of the campaign, the 35-year-old conceding three times as the Eagles stormed to victory in London.
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What has Emery said on Martinez?
Speaking at a press conference, Emery suggested that there was doubt over the severity of the injury, the Spaniard revealing that his number one had been in "a little bit of pain".
Emery told reporters, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail: "He was feeling yesterday a little bit of pain. He trained and today he felt good in the warm-up.
"In the first half he told us he was feeling some pain so we decided to change him. I don't exactly (the injury). We have to test him."
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A dilemma for Emery
With Martinez making 37 starts for Villa in all competitions this season, including every match in the Premier League and Champions League, it highlights his standing in the squad.
However, Emery is seemingly left with a dilemma over how to handle an issue that was severe enough for his withdrawal but not to be immediately substituted at the time.
Villa's next two fixtures are an FA Cup fifth-round tie at home to Cardiff City and a trip to Belgium for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Club Brugge.
Martinez being left out against Championship side Cardiff feels inevitable, Olsen deputising between the sticks and Oliwier Zych being promoted to chief backup.
Emery may then need to decide whether it is worth taking a risk on 32-year-old Martinez against Brugge, regardless of whether he is 100% fit. He has a week to recover ahead of that game on March 4.
Darren Plant
