Aston Villa journalist Mat Kendrick has been sharing his thoughts on Villa captain Jack Grealish and his impending return from injury.
This comes after Kendrick co-hosted a recent episode of the Birmingham Mail’s Claret & Blue Podcast where he spoke about a range of topics concerning Dean Smith’s side, including their recent 3-1 defeat against Manchester United.
On the subject of Grealish, who missed the clash against the Red Devils due to an ongoing shin injury, and his eventual return to action, Kendrick had this to say on the matter. (18.59)
He said: “Jack Grealish is going to be absolutely spot on before they risk him again.
“I think Jack Grealish will probably insist on that, to be honest, he’ll want to be fit, he’ll want to be playing, but he won’t want to do anything that jeopardises his chances of trying to impress Gareth Southgate in the last couple of games of the season.
“So, I think next weekend, again, depending on the nuances of Dean Smith’s Jack Grealish injury updates, I think next weekend is going to be more of a chance for Jack Grealish than Thursday and I know that’s only a couple more days on, but again I think it’s going to be 10 or 15 minutes from the bench as well before Jack starts.”
The 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £54 million, has been out of action since February with a shinbone injury.
TIF Thoughts on Mat Kendrick’s comments on Grealish…
Given how long Grealish has been out injured, it makes sense for the club to not rush him back out on the pitch before he has fully recovered and perhaps gets some minutes off the substitutes bench, as Kendrick suggested, before he gets a place in the starting XI.
Do you think Grealish will start a game for Villa before the end of the season?
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However, with Villa having only won three out of the 12 league games that Grealish has missed because of this injury, they could probably do with him making a full recovery as soon as he can or else they could well end their season on a rather disappointing note.
With Dean Smith recently revealing that Grealish is stepping up his training in an effort to get back to full fitness, this should be promising for the Villa fans.
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