Aston Villa attacking midfielder Jack Grealish posted on his official Twitter account on Monday that he will be returning to action soon following the blow to his kidneys that hospitalised him in July.

The 21-year-old suffered the injury after colliding with Watford midfielder Tom Cleverley during the two sides' pre-season friendly, and he spent three days in hospital as a result.

Grealish has been on the sidelines and working on getting back to full fitness since and he now appears to be closing in on providing a much-needed boost for a Villa side that have won just two of their opening eight Championship fixtures this season.

Steve Bruce ditched the 4-2-3-1 formation that he has often favoured during his time in charge of the Midlands outfit and used a more standard 4-4-2 system against Barnsley at the weekend, with Keinan Davis lining up alongside last term's top goalscorer Jonathan Kodjia in attack.

It seemed to work as the Villans recorded a dominant 3-0 victory at Oakwell, and Grealish could prove to be the perfect foil for the Ivory Coast international when he is back in action.

Here are three reasons the 21-year-old should partner Kodjia up front when he returns from injury…

Finishing

While he hasn’t been particularly prolific during his Aston Villa career to date, Grealish showed plenty of signs that he has the ability to finish chances in the Championship with five goals in 31 league appearances last season.

With the majority of those coming from the left wing and attacking midfield positions, Steve Bruce may feel that the 21-year-old can have an even bigger impact further forward rather than out wide in the 4-4-2 formation, especially if he is playing just off of Jonathan Kodjia or alongside him.

Ability on the ball

While Steve Bruce will want anyone who is playing with Kodjia in attack to be able to finish, it is also important that their all-round play in the final third is effective.

That can certainly be said of Grealish, who created 28 chances – only Albert Adomah and Jordan Ayew made more – in 31 Championship appearances for Villa last season, while he showed his ability to move forward with the ball and beat opponents by successfully completing 32 of the 57 take-ons he attempted.

According to WhoScored.com, one of the 21-year-old's main strengths is holding onto the ball and that trait could prove to be particularly effective in and around the penalty area.

Winning fouls

Grealish was fouled 81 times in 31 Championship appearances last season, and if he was played in a more attacking role alongside or just off of Kodjia, he would be more likely to win free-kicks right around the penalty area, or maybe even spot-kicks themselves.

With Villa often struggling to find the net – especially last season and this term aside from the wins against Norwich City and Barnsley – that tool could be especially useful and help them turn some of those draws into wins to push them up the league table.

Do you agree, Villa fans? Let us know below.