Shift link cable slightly bent?

Just replaced the throw-out bearing in my 2017 MK7 GTI and went ahead and threw in a new clutch. Decided might as well swap to a short throw. I noticed my up-down cable was slightly bent and thought it was just a Volkswagen thing so didn't pay any mind to it. Now sometimes when going in third it pops out and either goes back into third or to neutral. It sometimes grinds but it will clutch in and go to fourth. Could this be because of the bend in the cable?