Aston Villa boss Dean Smith admits Jack Grealish has been carrying a hamstring injury after victory over Newcastle United.

Grealish wasn't too pleased after being replaced by Jacob Ramsey on 88 minutes.

Smith explained why he made the change after revealing his talisman had been carrying a slight hamstring injury.

"He didn't do an awful lot in training yesterday and he wasn't happy I brought him off with a little over five minutes to go," Smith said.

"I thought it was game over and he's on four yellows as well plus there's that risk of getting him kicked so that was the right time (to take him off).

"He didn't look fatigued but the last couple of days he's had a tight hamstring. When you feel the game is done you can take a player like Jack off. In terms of Ross (Barkley), he's just catching up after having eight weeks off. Both of them showed the quality they've got."