England blow for Jack Grealish after suffering injury for Aston Villa

Jack Grealish's dream of playing for England next month looks set to be scuppered by a calf issue that has Aston Villa fretting.

Grealish has been in outstanding form and Gareth Southgate watched him on Saturday in his side’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City after he had scored three goals in his previous four games.

But Grealish was substituted in the 84th minute and the problem that forced him off is causing concern for Villa manager Dean Smith.

The 24-year-old required crutches on Saturday, as a precaution, to avoid aggravating the injury and is being monitored closely by Villa’s medical team.

The early indications are that Grealish will be sidelined for two weeks, which would rule him out of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup tie against Wolves as well as Premier League fixtures against Liverpool and Wolves.

There are concerns, however, that Grealish could be missing for up to four weeks.

Crucially, the injury will stop Southgate naming Grealish in his squad for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Montenegro and Kosovo. England’s head coach unveils his 23-man party on November 7.

Grealish has been putting pressure on Leicester’s James Maddison, whose place in the squad is under threat after he was released from international duty, then photographed in a casino on the night England played the Czech Republic.