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According to The Telegraph, Aston Villa's Jack Grealish is edging ever closer to a long-awaited return to action, with the club hoping he will be fit for the clash with Stoke on February 23.

The midfielder has not featured for Dean Smith's side since December after sustaining an injury in the 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion, and Villa have severely missed his creative presence.

The Midlands club have been without one of their star men for 10 games, a period in which time they have won just twice, showing his importance to their success.

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Smith will be anxious to get his star back in the starting XI as soon as possible but knows that easing him back in slowly is the best way forward if they want to avoid recurrence.

The Midlands outfit are currently just four points off the coveted play-off spots and will need to up their game if they want to earn promotion back to the Premier League - the return of Grealish cannot come soon enough, then.

Villa host Sheffield United, who sit third in the standings, on Friday and will be hoping that a stellar performance can help them narrow the gap between them and the top six, although they will have to do it without Grealish.

Here's how Villa fans reacted to the update on Twitter...