Smith reveals Grealish is back to training with squad but rules him out of Aston Villa’s next clash

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Dean Smith has confirmed that Jack Grealish has returned to training, however, will not be available for this weekend’s Premier League clash against Manchester United.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of this fixture, the former Brentford man claimed the ace, who has recently started training on grass, will join the first-team squad for tomorrow’s session.

Grealish has been out with a strain problem for the last 11 games, and suffered a setback to his recovery last month. During that period, the Villains dropped from 8th in the table down to 10th after a run of just three games from 11 matches.

When questioned about Grealish and his potential return to first-team action, Smith said: “He’s out on the grass loading the injury, so he’s on his way back, but this game will be too soon for him. He starts training with the actual group tomorrow. As I’ve said many times, we want him back as soon as possible, but we’ve got to do it right as well. He’s itching to get back, we’re itching to get him back, but we’re led by the medical staff.”

TBR View: Villa need to learn to cope with their talisman

It goes without saying, Villa’s form without their talisman is shocking to say the least, and if they’re serious about qualifying for European from here on out, they need to learn to cope without the England international.

Despite his diminutive stature, his presence on the pitch is enormous with the 25-year-old having 18 goals in just 22 top-flight games for Smith’s men. And when you consider he’s playing alongside teammates who were fighting a relegation battle last campaign.

However, his influence goes well beyond just goals and assists with his innate dribbling ability making him a nuisance for opposition defenders. No player in the top division has been fouled more times than Grealish.

However, given the fact almost every attacking passage of play would go through the star when he was fit, it’s easy to see why Villa rely on him. The challenge for Smith now is to get the team playing without reliance on their £54m-rated attacker.