Steve Bruce fears Jack Grealish could be out until Christmas as the full extent of the Aston Villa playmaker’s freak injury emerges.
Grealish suffered a serious kidney injury after landing on top of Tom Cleverley during Saturday's friendly against Watford and required surgery to rectify the problem.
The 21-year-old is still recovering in hospital with no discharge date yet decided and Bruce sounded a bleak prognosis having visited his player on Monday.
Grealish’s father Kevin said his son would be out for at least two to three months in a Facebook post but the Villa manager is not optimistic due to the nature of the injury.