Coventry City do not need another problem right now, but that is exactly what they may have picked up on Sunday. Frank Onyeka, who started the 5-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton, is now a doubt for the Carabao Cup third-round tie against Aston Villa after being forced off in the 73rd minute with an injury.
It is the sort of setback that can turn an already awkward week into a proper selection mess. Coventry are heading towards Wednesday night with several injury concerns and a suspension to manage, and the last thing they wanted was another midfielder needing to be assessed before Aston Villa arrive at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
A squad already stretched before Wednesday night
The Onyeka issue matters because it arrives in the middle of a run of bad news, not as an isolated inconvenience. Taiwo Awoniyi is suspended after a straight red card against Brighton, while João Gomes is available again after serving a domestic suspension. That at least gives Coventry one return, but it does not change the broader picture: they are still trying to piece together a side for a third-round tie with too many moving parts.
There is no point pretending this is a minor concern. A midfielder being injured in a heavy defeat is bad enough; losing him for the next match would be worse. Onyeka will be assessed ahead of Wednesday night, and that leaves Frank Lampard with another waiting game he could have done without.
Aston Villa will not care about Coventry's troubles. Unai Emery's side will turn up expecting a proper test, and Coventry may have to meet it with a midfield that looks thinner by the hour. That is the uncomfortable truth here: cup ties can punish any hint of vulnerability, and Coventry now have a few too many.
