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Roy Keane compares Jack Grealish to Cristiano Ronaldo as ‘star man’ for England vs Austria

 (The FA via Getty Images)
(The FA via Getty Images)

Jack Grealish's impressive performance for England against Austria drew high praise from Roy Keane, with the Manchester United legend comparing the Aston Villa star to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Grealish had been a major doubt for England's European Championship squad in the run-in of the Premier League season, with the playmkaer missing three months of football due to a shin injury.

Thankfully for England boss Gareth Southgate, Grealish return for the final few games of Villa's campaign and has made the final 26-man squad for this summer's Euros.

Grealish impressed in an attacking role for the Three Lions on Wednesday night, proving too much for Austria to handle as he won a number of free-kicks before going off with 20 minutes to go.

Following the match, former Man United captain Keane hailed Grealish as a game-changer for England, likening him to Old Trafford icon Ronaldo in his ability to lead his team forward.

"He is the star man, he makes things happen", Keane told ITV.

"He has courage and always wants the ball in tight areas.

"Like Cristiano Ronaldo at Portugal, you need players like that in your team. It is brave."

Grealish needed ice on his leg after being substituted, but allayed injury fears by insisting it was not a concern.

He told ITV: "It's not shin splints, it was a bit of stress on my shin. I'm not concerned. I'm still aware of it a little bit so I still need to keep on top of it and do whatever I can do to heal it afterwards.

"It was hard but you can't knock Austria, they are a very good team. You have to bear in mind we still have seven or eight players to come back. It was a good test for us and another win under our belt."

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