​Aston Villa 's Jack Grealish has made the incredible claim that an injury he suffered before the start of the 2017/18 campaign almost caused him to lose his life.

​

The Midlands club were taking on ​Watford in a pre-season friendly match, and the 22-year-old ended up hospitalised after a fairly innocuous challenge from Tom Cleverley.

He revealed, as quoted by the ​Mirror : "I took a kick to the kidney and it split in two places. It was pouring with blood, internally, for about five hours.

​

"It’s the worst pain I’ve ever been in. I went to Heartlands hospital in ​Birmingham. They found out what it was and I was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth for an operation. Before it happened, the surgeon had to tell me the consequences of what could happen if it didn’t work.

​

"He looked me in the eye and said, 'Jack, you could die'. My reply was, 'What?' I was genuinely scared. I was expecting to be back inside a week, but it was three or four months.

Easy to see why Jack Grealish is so popular at #avfc. Passionate, hugely talented, intensely willing. Plays with that boyish bounce. A joy to watch. — Tom Roddy (@TomRoddy_) 12 May 2018

"I knew Tom Cleverley from our time together at Villa and he couldn’t believe it. I spoke to him the morning after the ­operation and I said, 'Mate, do you know where I am and what’s happened? He couldn’t have been more apologetic."

​

Grealish went on to reveal that the situation has actually had a positive impact on him - stating that it forced him work hard and enjoy what he has because one never knows if everything can just be taken away in an instant.