NO-NONSENSE midfielder Richard Batchelor looks set to miss Worcester City’s Worcestershire FA Senior Cup semi-final against Redditch United because of a family emergency.

The former Brackley Town player, who joined City this summer, was unavailable for their 5-1 friendly defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday.

And Batchelor, who has previously played for Leamington, Hednesford Town, Chasetown and Romulus, is unlikely to feature against Redditch United at Stourport in the Worcestershire FA Senior Cup semi-final tomorrow (7.45pm).

City boss Carl Heeley explained: “We have a problem with Richard, who has had a family bereavement and gone to the Caribbean.

“It’s a shame but these things happen and we have to deal with it.”

Heeley admitted he was pleased with his players after their defeat to a strong Villa side on a sweltering afternoon at Walshes Meadow.

City took an early lead through Matt Birley’s superbly-taken free kick.

But Villa, who paraded household names such as Jack Grealish, Gabby Agbonlahor, Joleon Lescott and Stiliyan Petrov, hit back with five unanswered goals.

Grealish and Libor Kozak struck to give Villa a 2-1 lead at the interval before second-half goals from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Keinan Davis (2) completed the rout for the Championship side.

“It was always going to be very, very difficult against Villa,” said Heeley.

“They were always going to have sustained spells of possession and we needed to keep our shape, which I felt we did.

“We were playing against top-quality players and, up until the last 15 to 20 minutes, we competed with them.

“We took the lead with a great strike from Birley.

“We all know about his ability and it’s about whether Matt can get back to where he once was.”

It was no surprise Villa, a former Premier League club, showed much better composure on the ball and greater levels of fitness.

But Heeley believes his players will learn from the experience and the revenue from the day should also prove a much-needed fillip for the club’s finances.

“It was a good experience for the lads and full credit to Villa, who approached the match professionally, and it was good for us to be on the same park as some top-class players,” he said.

“We were playing against lads who featured in the Premier League last season and I am sure they will be at the top end of the Championship. It was an enjoyable day and a great crowd.”