Aston Villa now have major Emi Martinez problem as goalkeeper suffers third warm-up injury before Nottingham Forest

Aston Villa were forced into a late change before kickoff against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, as Emiliano Martinez suffered an increasingly familiar warm-up injury.

The former Arsenal shot-stopper was due to make his 28th Premier League start of the season against the Tricky Trees, shortly after playing the full 90 in Thursday's 3-1 Europa League triumph over Bologna.

However, Martinez was an unexpected late withdrawal from the starting lineup at the City Ground, as Marco Bizot came in to replace the Argentina international.

Martinez is understood to have suffered an injury in the warm-up, but no more details on the goalkeeper's issue have been announced, and Unai Emery will likely be asked for an update post-match.

Nevertheless, the World Cup winner has emerged as an early doubt for the second leg of Villa's EL quarter-final against Bologna on Thursday, as well as the Premier League clash against Sunderland next Sunday.

How many times has Emiliano Martinez withdrawn from Aston Villa starting lineup?

Martinez pulling out of the Aston Villa starting XI before kickoff has been nothing new in the 2025-26 season, as he has now been forced to withdraw before kickoff on three separate occasions.

The 33-year-old was also ruled out of October's Europa League victory over Feyenoord shortly before kickoff with a knock, although he was back in goal against Burnley three days later.

Martinez then had to pull out of Emery's lineup against Brighton & Hove Albion in December with another supposed warm-up injury, before returning to face Arsenal 72 hours later.

The Argentinian has been consistently available ever since, but his repeated last-minute withdrawals are becoming a major problem for Villa, even if Bizot is a more than capable deputy.

Martinez is still under contract with Aston Villa until the summer of 2029, though, so it would be a surprise to see the 33-year-old depart this summer without a sizeable transfer fee.

How many other Aston Villa players are injured?

Whether Martinez is given the green light to face Bologna or Sunderland only time will tell, but Boubacar Kamara is definitely out of both fixtures as the Frenchman recovers from his season-ending knee injury.

New signing Alysson is now back in team training following a month out with a muscular injury, but the Brazilian is still expected to remain sidelined for another couple of weeks.

Jadon Sancho (shoulder) failed to make the matchday squad against Forest either, but the winger is on the verge of a comeback and could be involved against Bologna in midweek.