Aston Villa sweat on fitness of Jack Grealish
Aston Villa are assessing the fitness of Jack Grealish ahead of tomorrow’s Championship clash with Preston.
Grealish missed Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Fulham with a calf injury but boss Steve Bruce has not yet given up hope of the influential playmaker being fit for the visit of the Lilywhites.
The manager expects to again be without Albert Adomah after confirming Villa’s top scorer will be out for “a while” with a hamstring injury sustained the injury during the 2-0 derby win over Blues.
His absence creates a major headache for Bruce, who suddenly finds himself without a recognised left winger due to teenager Andre Green also suffering with hamstring problems.
Both Robert Snodgrass and Josh Onomah were used in that position against Fulham though neither impressed.
Bruce acknowledged the absence of Adomah and Grealish proved too much for Villa to overcome as second-half goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Floyd Ayite saw their winning streak halted at seven matches.
He said: “For me they (Adomah and Grealish) have been the catalyst in terms of what we have achieved, with the penetration of Adomah and scoring the goals and then Grealish in the middle of the pitch.
“It’s the creativity we lacked (on Saturday) and that penetration which we have had in abundance over the last few weeks. We were dealt that blow and weren’t able to cope with it.”
Villa striker Ross McCormack has, meanwhile, been linked with a move to the USA and MLS outfit Colorado Rapid, who signed midfielder Jack Price from Wolves last month.