Aston Villa travel to Brammall Lane to face Sheffield United on Wednesday night, but the Claret and Blues will be without Jack Grealish as the 25-year-old “won’t be ready” to return, said Dean Smith in Tuesday’s pre-match press conference.
The Villa boss explained: “He won’t be ready for the game and he’s not travelling with us. We’ll decide later in the week if we can get him on the training ground.
Grealish picked up a leg injury after February’s 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion which caused him to miss Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Leicester City and 1-0 win over Leeds United. He’ll be sidelined for Wednesday’s clash but should return later this month.
Smith added: “He’s working with the doctor and the rehab staff every day. It’s frustrating because he’s a top player and we’re a better team for having him in it. It’s one of those things, players get injured and we’re playing Sheffield United who’ve had their fair share of injuries.
“It happens and it’s about how you cope with those. He feels it [the injury] in one movement, so once that’s pain-free he can get on and train.” Grealish is a loss for Villa, but the Midlands outfit managed to beat Leeds without him and will be favourites to see past Sheff Utd regardless of personnel.
The Blades are 20th in the Premier League with 11 points from 26 games and are coming off the back of four straight defeats. They lost to Villa in September too, so Smith’s side have a chance of doing the double over them.
A win in midweek could see the Claret and Blues leapfrog 8th-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the table while narrowing the gap to the top-six, so there’s a lot riding on their upcoming encounter.
READ ASTON VILLA VERDICT
Villa will miss Grealish, but the side have proven they can deliver in his absence so they should be able to cope against United.
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