Key Man City star returns to training to ease Pep Guardiola concerns ahead of Nottingham Forest
Pep Guardiola said in midweek that Manchester City are ‘in trouble’, so will have been relieved to see an attacker return to training.
Manchester City star Jack Grealish was seen back in training on Wednesday as the Premier League champions prepare for Saturday’s clash against Nottingham Forest.
The former Aston Villa star has missed City’s last three games with a knock and was also forced to pull out of the England squad earlier this month. Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday, following his side’s 3-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade, that the attacker might be out for up to 10 days, but less than 24 hours later was pictured back in
training.
City posted several images on social media of first-team stars going through their paces on Wednesday, including Grealish, who appeared to be taking part in a full-contact session. The 28-year-old also uploaded photos from training to his Instagram account.
It means Grealish could make a return to the City squad for the weekend clash against Forest, although Guardiola may be tempted to start with Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden in the wide areas, allowing Grealish additional time to ease back into competitive action.
However, City’s options in the wide areas took a hit on Tuesday as Bernardo Silva was replaced due to injury, with Guardiola claiming after the match that the Portugal international is likely to missing the ‘next games’. The City boss also confirmed after the match that John Stones needs extra time to recover from a recent knock, although added Mateo Kovacic is close to comeback.
Along with Kevin De Bruyne’s long-term hamstring issue, Guardiola has five injury concerns ahead of the Forest encounter, a particularly alarming number given City’s relatively small squad size. The ex-Barcelona manager admitted on Tuesday that he is ‘in trouble’ with so many absentees.
“When we have five important players – really important players – injured, so sustain that for a long time will be difficult,” said Guardiola. “But it is what it is. But we cannot have the salaries the budgets the transfers to have 55 players. It would be chaos for the clubs and would be bankrupt. Sometimes it happens.”
