Matty Cash's concussion leaves Villa a seven-day protocol race before Sunderland visit

Aston Villa have a week to find out whether Matty Cash can face Sunderland. The right back left Poland's camp on Sunday with a concussion he picked up in Saturday's 2-1 Nations League loss to Romania in Bucharest, and Villa host Sunderland at Villa Park next Saturday (3 p.m. UK, 10 a.m. ET). That kickoff falls seven days after the blow, which leaves very little margin under English football's concussion guidelines.

Cash was challenging Romania striker Daniel Bîrligea for the ball when he was caught on the chin by Bîrligea's arm as the forward shielded it, according to GiveMeSport. He went down and received treatment in the first half, carried on, and was replaced by Arkadiusz Pyrka in the 76th minute, shortly after goals from Alexandru Cicâldău and Dennis Man had put Romania 2-0 up.

He made his situation clear on the way out of the stadium. When Polish journalist Mateusz Borek asked whether he would be ready for Tuesday's game against Sweden, Cash replied: "No, I've got concussion." On Sunday he posted a video of the incident on Instagram with the caption "Nice one" and thumbs-up emojis.

The Polish federation confirmed it the same morning: "Matty Cash is leaving the ongoing Poland national team training camp due to a concussion. The defender suffered the injury during Saturday's match against Romania in Bucharest and will be unable to play in Tuesday's match against Sweden."

The return-to-play guidelines the FA and the Premier League set out in 2014 rule a player out of competitive matches for at least six days after a concussion. A player can move up one stage every 24 hours, and only if he has no symptoms, and the process often takes longer. Cash was hurt on Saturday afternoon, so Sunderland's visit is the earliest point at which he could realistically be cleared, and only if every step goes to plan once Villa's medical staff assess him this week.

Cash has started seven of Villa's 10 Premier League games this season and made 12 appearances in all competitions. Unai Emery has already had to cope without him once: Cash missed the 4-4 draw at Manchester United before the break through a suspension for five yellow cards, and Taylor Harwood-Bellis started there. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is the other natural option, but he is dealing with an injury of his own, according to RotoWire.

Cash isn't the only Villa player coming back early. Johan Manzambi has already left Switzerland's camp with a calf problem and returned to Villa for tests. Emery may get both back for Sunderland, or he may have to rebuild the right side of his defense for the first game after the break.