A trip to Bramall Lane to play Sheffield United in the Premier League beckons for Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
And ahead of the game, head coach Dean Smith fielded a number of questions from the assembled media.
Here’s what he had to say…
On team news…
“Matty Cash did some running yesterday and he was desperate to get involved in the ball work. The medical staff wouldn’t allow him to.
“After a hamstring injury you have to tick a lot of boxes first. It was good to see him out there. The same with Kortney Hause who was out there running yesterday.
“Wesley was in full contact training, so it’s good news on the more long-term injuries.”
On Jack Grealish’s condition…
“He won’t be ready for the game and he’s not travelling with us. We’ll decide later in the week if we can get him on the training ground.
“He’s working with the doctor and the rehab staff every day. It’s frustrating because he’s a top player and we’re a better team for having him in it.
“It’s one of those things, players get injured and we’re playing Sheffield United who’ve had their fair share of injuries.
“It happens and it’s about how you cope with those. He feels it [the injury] in one movement, so once that’s pain-free he can get on and train.”
On Anwar El Ghazi…
“He had a fruitful December. He’s just come into the team and he needs confidence. When he’s confident, he looks like one hell of a player.
“He came on as a sub against Wolves and took the last-minute penalty, scored and went on a goalscoring spree after that.
“Hopefully he can take confidence from his performance, first and foremost, against Leeds, scoring a winning goal and continue that into March now.”
On his faith in Jacob Ramsey…
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, but more importantly his peers have as well – the lads who he trains with every single day.
“They can see that he’s ready to play first team football. I had a decision to make when I decided to leave Ross and Douglas out of the team whether I went with Morgan or Jacob.
“I just felt the Leeds game would be more of a game for Jacob to start in. I’m pleased that I’ve got the options to choose between Jacob, Morgan, Douglas, Marvelous Nakamba, John McGinn, Ross Barkley – it’s a real good, competitive area of the pitch for us at the moment.”
On Sheffield United…
“They’re still fighting and they won’t believe they’re down yet, but it’s looking hard for them. They’ve had some key players out. Dean Henderson, the goalkeeper, left, Jack O’Connell’s been out most of the season, so they’ve lost some key players at key times.
“We’ve been through that ourselves last year, losing John McGinn, Wesley and Tom Heaton. It’s very difficult to be really good competitors in this league when you’ve lost key players.
“I’ve known Chris (Wilder) for a long time and I don’t doubt their professionalism and pride in every game that they play. Knowing Chris as I do, they will be ready for every game.”
