Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that midfielder Jack Grealish is working with a former Las Vegas trapeze artist as part of his recovery from injury.
The 23-year-old is currently in Dubai to undertake some warm weather training as he works on recovering from a shin injury, and Smith has revealed that he has placed him in the care of his trapeze artist cousin Craig Smith to help his rhabilitation.
“It’s not a bad gig because my cousin Craig over there works for the Cirque du Soleil,” he told the Sun. “He was the British tumbling champion and went to work in Las Vegas for 18 years as a performer.”
“Jack’s there with our physio Alan Smith to do some rehabilitation and I’ve got my cousin to show him around. He’s got him some tickets to the show I think, as well, so Jack will be well looked after out there.”
OPINION
This is a new one in terms of injury recovery, isn’t it? Still, whatever methods help Grealish get back to full fitness as quickly as possible is a good thing for Villa. If that means working with a trapeze artist then so be it. It is clear that Smith needs his star man back as soon as possible because his side are floundering at the moment. The Villans have now suffered back to back 3-0 defeats in all competitions and haven’t won a game since their narrow victory over Swansea City on Boxing Day. Clearly something is not right at Villa Park. Grealish won’t be able to fix it all by himself, of course, but he would be a big step towards righting the ship. Hopefully the warm weather training and the unique approach to stretches being taught to Grealish by Smith’s cousin might help the Englishman return a bit quicker. If that’s the case then it’s happy days from a Villa perspective.