Aston Villa's Frederic Guilbert battling to be fit for Wolves clash

The French full-back is being assessed by the club’s medical staff after sustaining a dead leg in last weekend’s defeat to Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Guilbert, who has started Villa’s last nine league games, played through the pain barrier after suffering the injury early on before eventually being forced off in the 69th minute.

Boss Dean Smith explained: “He got it (the dead leg) quite early on in the game but carried on through.

“At half-time, he was on the exercise bike keeping it moving and then eventually it got too much so he had to come off, which was unfortunate.”

Ahmed Elmohamady is ready to deputise should Guilbert not recover in time for the clash at Molineux.

Smith expects to have Jack Grealish back available, with the skipper having missed Villa’s last two matches with a calf injury.

Grealish, who sat out the Liverpool game after failing a late fitness test, is due to return to training tomorrow. Wing ace Jota is also scheduled to be back this week following a hernia operation.

Club captain James Chester, meanwhile, completed 90 minutes for the first time since January as Villa's under-23s claimed a 3-2 win over Newcastle on Monday night.

Third-choice goalkeeper Orjan Nyland was also handed a rare run out in the Premier League Two clash.