Another injury setback for Grealish

JACK GREALISH faces an anxious wait to prove his fitness for England’s Euro 2020 campaign after Aston Villa boss Dean Smith admitted his captain would be missing ‘for at least a few more weeks’. The playmaker has suffered a setback in his return from a shin problem that has caused him to miss Villa’s previous seven games. Smith insists Grealish will be back before the end of the campaign but refused to put a timeline on his recovery programme. Grealish is so important to Villa that Smith accepted both he and the player had been ‘too optimistic’ in trying to ensure he returned against Fulham last Sunday. The 25-year-old (right) was ruled out of the game after complaining of further shin pain during training the day before. ‘He is a young lad and he gets frustrated when he is not playing and that was probably one of the reasons why we tried to get him back a little bit earlier,’ said Smith. ‘It’s a setback we didn’t see. It’s happened and now he knows he’s got to be stricter. ‘We have to make sure we de-load him and be stricter with ourselves as well. He recognises it’s his career. He’s got the Euros at the end of the season that he is fighting to get fit for, as well as Aston Villa. ‘He is mindful of everything. We know it’s not a long-term injury. A couple of weeks off his feet should see him back flying. ‘For me there is no danger of Jack not playing before the end of the season. How soon that is I don’t know.’