Aston Villa injury update: Featuring Jack Grealish and Adama Traore

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The two midfielders are back fit and in contention to face Chelsea tomorrow lunchtime at Villa Park.

Aston Villa youngsters Jack Grealish and Adama Traore could feature in Saturday’s home clash with Chelsea after returning to full training, caretaker manager Eric Black has confirmed at his pre-match press conference.

Grealish has not played for Villa since injuring his ankle in training in mid-February, just a few weeks after sitting out three matches while recovering from a bout of tonsillitis.

The 20-year-old playmaker has only made three total appearances this calendar year as a result, but he is now back fit and available for selection ahead of Black’s first game in charge.

Adama, meanwhile, has been sidelined for the past three months after breaking his foot in the 3-1 loss at Sunderland, but he has also been making good progress with his rehabilitation over recent weeks and could even join Grealish in the squad this weekend.

Speaking at his press conference, Black told reporters: “Jack Grealish and Adama Traore have trained, but whether or not they actually get in 18 I’ll make that decision tomorrow.

“Obviously I’ve had to assess the international players over the last couple of days, so there are one or two additions coming back. We’ll add those two and look at them today.

“We’ve got a good 21, 22 players training today so I’ve got one or two choices to make.”

Black originally joined Villa as Remi Garde’s new first-team coach in January, but the Frenchman’s anticipated departure earlier this week means he is now in line to manage the Premier League’s bottom side for their final seven games of the season.

Relegation looks a certainty at this point with the club currently 12 points from safety, but the Scot is still not planning on making sweeping changing to the line-up during the run-in.

“As you know, it’s very difficult to come into a group of players and change things overnight,” he added at his press conference. “Obviously I’ve looked at the previous games and been involved in them. I’ve been involved in training and I’ll pick a team I think is capable of competing against Chelsea.”

One player who will definitely not be involved on Saturday, though, is Gabby Agbonlahor after the long-serving striker was dropped for the squad while the club carries out an investigation into his recent off-field conduct.