Aston Villa ace Jack Grealish targeting Premier League return next week

The skipper will train alongside team-mates for the first time in more than a month on Saturday as he nears a long-awaited comeback from a shin injury.

Though Grealish has been ruled out of Sunday's match against Manchester United, Villa hope he can make a first-team return in either Thursday’s clash with Everton or – more likely – the May 16 trip to Crystal Palace.

The club are continuing to take every precaution with their captain, knowing any further setback at this stage would almost certainly scupper his chances of featuring for England at Euro 2020.

Grealish, who has missed Villa’s last 11 Premier League matches, was on the brink of returning last month only for the injury to flare up again after a week of training.

“We have been a lot more conservative this time,” said Villa boss Dean Smith.

“It is a loading injury. He had a spike in his loading when he tried to come back the first time and a bit of a relapse. This time he has been doing three or four kilometres every other day on his feet, which has been controlled.

“After his first day training with the players we can gradually build that load up, aiming for him to play a part against either Everton or Palace.

“We will be lead by Jack who knows what the pain will feel like and the medical staff as well.”