The Lions disclosed the Egypt international is making progress in his recovery from injury but remains some way off a return to competitive action 

Aston Villa are set to be without Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’ for “a significant time” while Jack Grealish is also facing a couple of weeks on the sidelines.

Trezeguet picked up a serious injury in Villa’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in a Premier League showdown on April 10 at Anfield.

Towards the end of the demanding fixture, the Egypt international went down following a tackle from match-winner Trent Alexander-Arnold who made him leave the field in tears.

According to manager Dean Smith during a pre-match conference ahead of Wednesday’s league encounter with Manchester City, the former Anderlecht and Kasimpasa winger will continue to be out of action, although the 26-year-old had a successful operation.

It remains to be seen when Trezeguet will come back into contention, with his club still unable to put a timescale on his recovery.

When asked if Grealish is fit to play, Smith told the media: “No, he’s not.

“I did say it’d be a few weeks before we got him back out again and we’re still waiting for him to get back out onto the grass.

“He’s itching to get in and we want him back. We’ve also got Trezeguet who had a nasty knee injury last week and he’s going to be out for a significant time now.

“He’s had an operation that was successful.”

Trezeguet teamed up with Aston Villa on July 24, 2019, from Turkish Super Lig club Kasimpasa for a fee of £8.75 million.

Initially, he struggled to acclimatise to life in England but he went on to score six goals in 34 games, including his brace in their victory over Crystal Palace and provided two assists as Villa escaped relegation to the English second-tier.

In 21 games played so far in the 2020-21 English top-flight campaign, the former Al Ahly, Excel Mouscron and Anderlecht man has made significant contributions, helping his side secure 13 wins to sit 11th after accruing 44 points with two games in hand.

Victory over Pep Guardiola’s Citizens will improve their standing in the English elite division log. After that, they host West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

source:- goal