Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has been ruled out of their game with Liverpool at Anfield through injury.
The Villa skipper netted their sixth and seventh goals in the shock 7-2 thrashing of the reigning Premier League champions back on October 4 but his hopes of facing them again on Saturday have been dashed.
The 25-year-old has missed Villa's last seven matches after complaining of a shin issue in the build up to Villa's defeat against Leicester City on February 21. Birmingham Live report that the England playmaker returned to full training just last week in the hope of returning against Fulham.
However, in the hours leading up to kick-off, Grealish complained of discomfort once again and was pulled out just 10 minutes into last Saturday's session at Bodymoor Heath.
The skipper is now working alongside Villa's strength and conditioning coach Oli Stevenson with Grealish pencilling in a return for the match with Everton on May 1, with his focus on hopefully returning before then.
Confirming Villa's latest blow, ahead of Saturday's trip to Liverpool, Villa manager Dean Smith said: “Jack had a setback obviously last week. Myself and Jack were probably a little too optimistic trying to get him back.
"He wanted to be back for the Tottenham game (March 21) and we tried to push him for the Fulham game but he's had a setback which will probably keep him out for a few more weeks. We need to de-load him.
"The good news is is that it's not a long-term injury..
"He's mostly quite calm and we know he'll be back before the end of the season. It is what it is."
