Grealish: Die for the Villa cause? I very nearly did

ASTON VILLA v FULHAM

IT IS often said that footballers will “die for the cause” – but Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish nearly did.

The gifted playmaker will step out at Wembley for the Championship Play-off Final this Saturday with the hopes of 40,000 Villa fans on his shoulders.

But, to understand the trip Grealish has been on, you have to go back to the moment when a tackle in a warm-up game almost cost him his life.

Rewind to a pre-season friendly against Watford and a harmless-looking challenge from former team-mate Tom Cleverley that didn’t just put the 22-year-old in hospital, it left him fearing he may never wake up again.

Grealish (below) said: “I took a kick to the kidney and it split in two places. It was pouring with blood, internally, for five hours. It’s the worst pain I’ve ever been in.

“I went to Heartlands Hospital, in Birmingham. They found out what it was and then I was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth for an operation. “Before the op, the surgeon had to tell me the consequences of what could happen if it didn’t work.

“He looked me in the eye and said, ‘Jack, you could die’. My reply was, ‘What?’ – I was genuinely scared.

“I was expecting to be back inside a week, but it was three or four months.

“I came back from that injury a different person. I thought about how everything could be taken away from you in such a short space of time. “I wanted to be the best I could be.” Grealish added: “I’m praying we win it – just for the gaffer [Steve Bruce].

“When I was in hospital, he came to see me twice and Facetimed me every other day.

“You remember stuff like that and, if I do end up scoring the winner, it will be dedicated to him.”