Aston Villa travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley this evening and may have an injury concern ahead of the Premier League clash. Jack Grealish is carrying a knock to his hamstring that Dean Smith has had to manage in the last week, so he might not be 100% for the game in Lancashire.
In quotes reported by Birmingham Live, Smith explained: “(Grealish) didn’t do an awful lot in training (on January 22) and wasn’t happy I brought him off (against Newcastle). I thought it was game over and he’s on four yellows as well, plus there’s that risk of getting him kicked, so that was the right time (to take him off).”
Smith still has Bertrand Traore, who has scored four goals in his last five league games; Anwar El Ghazi, with five goals in his last eight league matches; and Trezeguet, who is set to return from injury, but Grealish would be a major loss for Villa.
The 25-year-old has scored six goals and supplied 10 assists in 18 games this season. He has a hand a hand in a goal every 1.12 games on average while creating the most chances (61) and recording the third-most successful dribbles (49) of any player in this season’s Premier League.
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Grealish has provided four assists in his last six games and hasn’t gone more than two games without contributing a goal in some form (Transfermarkt), so Smith will be hoping to name him in the starting lineup against Burnley this evening if he is fit enough to feature.
If the England international can avoid being booked in Villa’s next two games, Premier League rules state that he won’t be given a one-match ban for five yellow cards, as Villa will have played 19 league games by then. As Smith has hinted, the next couple of matches may carry an element of risk management regarding the team’s playmaker.
