Villa Park pitch is fantastic, says Peter Grant

Assistant boss Peter Grant refuted suggestions there are any problems with the Villa Park pitch ahead of the visit of Liverpool this weekend.

On-loan Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas was ruled out for the season after he ruptured his Achilles against Manchester United last time out while Javier Hernandez suffered an ankle injury in the same match.

Both injuries were as a result of awkward falls off the ball while Gabby Agbonlahor was forced to have injections to play with a back problem earlier in the season with the hard pitches thought to be one of the reasons.

Villa groundsman Jonathan Calderwood is regularly nominated for awards to reflect the quality of the playing surface and Grant believes the injuries are coincidence rather than anything more sinister.

"The pitch is immaculate. We're delighted with the surface we've got both at the training ground and at Villa Park," said Grant

"It's nothing to do with the pitch whatsoever and I think Jermaine would tell you that. The pitches are fantastic now and there was no indication of anything like that at all.

"Our groundsmen work ever so hard and we can't ask for any better pitches. It's like a snooker table."