I heard a whisper a day or two ago that Carlos Cuellar was in London for a knee operation and the Express & Star and OS have confirmed the news with some interesting details today. Apparently, Carlos was having a torn meniscus in his right knee fixed and will now be out for up to three months, probably causing him to miss the start of next season.

The most interesting part though, according to Craig Birch at E&S, is the revelation that the injury was sustained at some point during the season, but the required operation was delayed so that Cuellar could provide emergency cover for Dunne and Collins. If accurate, this almost certainly provides an answer for all the fans confused by King Carlos’ absence from the starting eleven.

It’s not clear exactly when the injury (and need for an operation) was diagnosed, but I would be inclined to assume it was after the January transfer window had closed and we had sold Curtis Davies to Birmingham City. However, the need to reduce the wage bill being what it is, that might not be the case.

Carlos Cuellar 2010/11 appearance record

2010/11 has been a stop-start season for Cuellar. He missed the first three games through injury, but rejoined the starting line-up in the 4th game of the season; the disappointing loss to Rapid Vienna at Villa Park. He was involved in the 11 matches that followed (three starts, one appearance from the bench and seven as an unused substitute) before missing four games in November, again through injury.

Carlos was back on the bench for the Carling Cup defeat at St. Andrews and appalling loss at Anfield before starting ten of the 13 matches that followed through December, January and into February. Unfortunately, he lasted just 26 minutes at Blackpool before his hamstring got the better of him and James Collins came on in his place.

He missed the next three matches after Blackpool, although I only have him down as injured for two and expected him to be in the squad at Bolton, but he wasn’t included for reasons unknown. He started the next game – the 1-0 win at Molineux – alongside Nathan Baker with both Dunne and Collins officially injured (*ahem*) and Ciaran Clark suspended.

He watched the following game at Everton from the bench, but came on for what was his last appearance in the next game – the 1-0 win against Newcastle at Villa Park – replacing Kyle Walker. He sat on the bench for five of the final six games, declared as injured for the curtain closer against Liverpool.

Overall, out of 46 possible matches in 2010/11, Cuellar was involved in 35 match-day squads and missed 10 through confirmed injuries. He made 15 starts, came on as a substitute twice and watched the entire game from the bench on 18 occasions, six of which were during the final eight games of the season.

Whether Cuellar would have been given the nod ahead of Collins or Dunne during the closing stages of the season if 100% fit can’t be known, but it’s academic in any case. We now know what the manager(s) reportedly knew when picking the side; Cuellar was only available in an emergency.

However, we can feel reasonably secure (if we weren’t already) that Cuellar will be an Aston Villa player again next season. It will be the final year of his four year contract though, whether that situation changes or not may well depend on the prognosis of this latest injury as much as anything that goes on this summer.

I’m just one of many King Carlos fans, so I hope he does recover well and still has a long future ahead of him at Aston Villa.

¡Buena suerte, Carlos!

And finally, just in case you’re interested in Cuellar’s appearance record this season in comparison with the rest of the back line, I’ve put together this matrix for your enjoyment (click for full-sized version). Or not, as the case may be.