Jack Grealish made headlines for the wrong reasons this week, but Tony Grant has questioned one suggestion of a further punishment.

Grealish was omitted from Everton’s squad on Thursday for the Carabao Cup game against Newcastle United, following a breach of club discipline.

The development was highly disappointing considering Everton are so short of players right now, and plenty of fans have been left disgruntled. Some have even called for his loan to be cancelled.

There have been more claims today about Jack Grealish’s behaviour which haven’t helped matters.

The situation is certainly far from ideal. But for former Toffee Tony Grant, one outcome of this should really not be on the table.

Tony Grant insists Jack Grealish must still be used by Everton

Grealish has been disciplined by Everton. Presumably he will have been fined, and it remains to be seen if he will actually be available for selection against Newcastle on Monday.

Some fans have been calling for Grealish not to play for Everton again following this episode.

But for former Everton midfielder Tony Grant, the situation with Everton’s small squad should dictate things and Grealish should still be used, not discarded.

He said on True Blue Everton: “Straight away you’re looking at punishing someone and you go ‘Well you’re not playing for two weeks’, and I get that. But we’ve got no players.

“Playing away to Newcastle, you probably need someone to hold the ball and take some fouls. He’s probably the best at that for us. If he’s out of the equation, you’re just down another body. And I’m thinking, ‘Ok, you can still play him if you want to play him, and still punish him’. But I think away from home to Newcastle we need everybody we’ve got.”

Grealish can still turn things around at Everton, if he wants

There have been a lot of opinions about Grealish following the news on Thursday, and undoubtedly his actions are disappointing.

But there is still potential for him to turn things around if he wants to. At the end of the day, he is a quality footballer, and he’s at a huge club which he loves. And a lot of fans love him too, still. There’s a route back and it’s on him to make it happen for himself.

But Grant is right – Everton can ill afford to not be counting on players when the squad is this small.

That is another thing that could yet see Grealish come back from this. Granted, he hasn’t been in great form, but for Everton to just not use him would only increase the workload of other players.