Villa boss Smith to ´reprimand´ internal Grealish leak

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith said he will reprimand any potential internal leak after news of captain Jack Grealish’s injury emerged well in advance of Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League home loss to Leicester City.

Grealish was left out of the Villa line-up due to a leg knock picked up at training, although that became public knowledge ahead of the fixture, leaving Smith irritated by the advantage it may have offered the Foxes.

The England international is a key figure for Villa, having played every league game this season until Sunday, scoring six goals while he is also equal second for most assists this campaign with 10.

“I was made aware on social media there were rumours he was not going to play,” Smith told BBC Sport.

“If that is coming out of our training ground I will find out where it is coming from and reprimand whoever it is coming from.

“It is something I would not be happy with.”

“We certainly have to start games better than we did today.”

The thoughts of Dean Smith following #AVLLEI.  pic.twitter.com/rb8z9NCXiA

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 21, 2021

Smith added he was not sure about the extent of Grealish’s injury yet.

“Jack had some discomfort during training on Friday and we pulled him out,” Smith said. “It’s not a recurrence of an injury, it’s not a long-term injury – he just had some mild discomfort.

“We’ll assess it and find out where we go from here. Knowing Jack as I do, I’m sure he’ll be pushing to get back as soon as possible.”

Villa – eighth in the Premier League – are away to Leeds United on Saturday, before a run of games against Sheffield United, Wolves and Newcastle United.