Aston Villa have been without star midfielder Jack Grealish for the last six Premier League games after he picked up a shin injury in training back in February.
Dean Smith’s side have managed just one victory without their talisman – a 1-0 triumph over Leeds United – and they currently find themselves on a run of four straight games without a victory.
Fortunately for Villa fans, Grealish has since had an extra two weeks of recovery over the international break, and Smith has now revealed that the 25-year-old is in line to make his long-awaited comeback when Villa travel to Craven Cottage to meet Fulham on Sunday.
“We still have to manage him obviously to make sure his loading is not too much,” Smith told Villa TV on Thursday. “But his tolerance levels are really good with whatever pain is there at the moment. And obviously we’ve had scans that have come back really positive as well. So he’s looking forward now to getting back to his best.
“I am [hopeful Grealish will play against Fulham]. That was the aim. When it first happened we looked at the calendar and thought Fulham would be the first game [back].”
Smith also confessed that Grealish has looked excellent in training, adding to the excitement surrounding his eventual return.
“He’s joined in and his first session, I must admit, he was very, very good,” Smith continued. “It was mouth-watering to see what we’ve been missing a little bit, you sometimes forget how good he actually is until he comes back into training. He’s been excellent, as you can imagine.
“He’s missed it, it’s been a frustrating one because there’s nothing visual you can see with the injury he’s had, it was just a shin injury, but we had to wait until he could persevere with the pain he was under.”
As one of the top-scoring midfielders in Fantasy Premier League Football, Grealish’ return will mean a lot to fans around the country. The likes of James Maddison, Tomas Soucek and Riyad Mahrez have been dependable deputies, but all the signs suggest Grealish could be back in action on Sunday, so it’s time to make your subs.
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