Jack Grealish: Man City ‘stress-related concern’ is total ‘vindication of what Dean Smith’ did at Aston Villa – expert
The latest details on Man City superstar Jack Grealish’s injury are a “vindication” of Dean Smith’s handling of him last season.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Grealish, who signed from Aston Villa in a blockbuster £100million deal last summer, has missed City’s last two matches with a shin injury.
Initial reports suggested that the attacker could be out of action for Pep Guardiola’s side for up to a month.
But although he ultimately missed the clash, Guardiola has said Grealish was in contention for the 5-0 win over Sporting last night (15 February).
Per talkSPORT earlier that day, the Spanish boss also revealed that the 26-year-old’s setback is “a little bit [like] what he had last season at Villa.”
This information excuses Smith for his failure to provide an accurate return date for Grealish during a spell on the sidelines last term, claims Dinnery.
“It’s vindication for Dean Smith, in my view,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“He faced a hell of a lot of flack because some supporters felt he had given misinformation on a potential return timeline for Grealish.
“His setback was around February. His initial return timeline was seven days, then two weeks, then six weeks and in the end, he didn’t return until May.
“This shows the difficulty we have in trying to pin down an exact return.
“This is a stress-related concern in his shin. It is something he has managed and been aware of.
“Quite often, if he had been substituted, you would see him applying some ice to the anterior aspect of the shin to manage the reaction to that problem.
“In defence of Dean Smith last season, when he was giving these return-to-play timelines, Grealish would have been training fine.
“But when you go to increase the load and intensity, that’s when you have the reaction. So it’s impossible to give a definitive timeline.
“You can train perfectly well for days but then you suffer a reaction and you’re back to square one.”
Smith, who is now managing Norwich City, was dismissed as Villa boss in November last year.
Grealish has registered three goals and three assists in 25 outings this term.
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