Aston Villa will host Derby County in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
Dean Smith has confirmed that Aston Villa duo Jack Grealish and Tom Carroll have put themselves in contention to start Saturday’s home clash against Derby County after recovering from their respective injuries.
Both have been sidelined for a period of time, with Grealish not playing since December and January signing Carroll only featuring once since making his switch from Swansea.
Added with that, Smith confirmed that Alan Hutton’s injury is ‘not as bad as first feared’ as the ‘Scottish Cafu’ could be back playing for the club before the season draws to a close – this will be brilliant news for Villa fans because it was first feared that he may have played his last game for the club.
Here is Smith providing Villa supporters with the news they have been waiting for following a number of difficult months on the pitch without their key players.
“He [Grealish] has trained well so he is available for selection for the game against Derby,” Smith told AVTV.
“It’s not as bad as first feared [Hutton’s injury]. We thought he might have ruptured his MCL – he’ll be out for a number of weeks. We’ll have to monitor it and see how he is. I’m hoping we will have him back for the end of the season.
“Tom [Carroll] is back training with us fully. He has done a little bit on Friday and he’s started the week with us. Him and Jack both putting themselves in contention for Saturday.”
The news will no doubt be a big boost for Villa because they have struggled to string together any decent performances or results in recent weeks.
Since the turn of the year, they have recorded only one win, but their 1-1 draw at Stoke City last time out was one of the better performances.
Many supporters will still admit that securing a play-off spot is now out of the picture, but there is no doubt that Smith and his team will be pushing to finish as high as possible.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
