Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has confirmed John McGinn has returned to full training.

McGinn has been out of action since suffering a fractured ankle against Southampton in December, but he has stepped up his recovery in recent weeks.

Speaking to VillaTV, the Villa boss explained his plans for McGinn's return to match action.

He said: “John is back in full contact training with the players.

“It's a boost for us and I'll have to make a decision on whether he is ready to play a part against Chelsea.

“After the Chelsea game we have the international break and also a break where we were supposed to be playing Newcastle as well.

“We will arrange a game for John to play and hopefully we will see the best of him after the international break."

Smith highlighted the parallels with Jack Grealish's comeback from injury last term, but he is wary of putting too much pressure on the midfielder.

“There are an awful lot of similarities to last season," he explained.

“We didn't have a lot of confidence, but Jack came back and we went on a 10-match winning run.

“I'm not saying that John will help us to do that, but hopefully he can give us that sort of lift."