Dean Smith furious as Jack Grealish is ruled out of Stoke clash | OneFootball

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Blaise Bourgeois·14 December 2018

Dean Smith furious as Jack Grealish is ruled out of Stoke clash

Article image:Dean Smith furious as Jack Grealish is ruled out of Stoke clash

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith believes the accruing kicks to Jack Grealish’s legs have contributed more than anything to the shin injury that will keep him out of this weekend’s match against Stoke City.

Jack Grealish is the most fouled player in the Championship and is often the subject of abuse from opposing supporters and the media.


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Smith believes this treatment is unfair and thinks any accusation of constant diving is a farce.

Villa are unbeaten in six matches, though they were robbed of two points last week when Jay Rodriguez scored a controversial 91st-minute goal off his hand to give West Brom a huge point.

Smith told reporters that if it was Grealish in Rodriguez’s shoes, fans and the press would have torn into the 23-year-old.

“I was thinking the other day, can you imagine if we were losing 2-1 at West Brom and Jack Grealish had scored that goal?

“I think he might have been a bit vilified for it. It is not fair on the kid, he is a good player.

“I think sometimes people look at him going down too much but they don’t look at him getting kicked as much as he does.”

Grealish will undergo another scan on his shin on Friday, and Smith will hope the 23-year-old will be fit for Villa’s important holiday run of five matches in two weeks – beginning with the big Leeds clash on 23 December.

“I won’t know until he has a scan. When he has the scan we will address it.

“At the moment he is telling me he wants to play but I have the medical department telling me he can’t.

“Listen, he is the most fouled player, we saw that. I thought Rodriguez should have been booked for the cynical trip on him last Friday but I didn’t see anyone cautioned.”

In addition to Grealish, Aston Villa will also be without Neil Taylor this weekend, as he is set to miss two more weeks with a hamstring injury he picked up in the West Brom draw.