Pep Guardiola has been speaking about injuries at Manchester City – with Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish receiving a brief mention.
However, the Spaniard was unable to offer much of an update on the pair – to say the least.
So, what did Pep Guardiola say about Jack Grealish and Mateo Kovacic? Let’s take a look…
What’s the story?
Well, both the England international and the £25m Croatia international missed Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham due to injury issues.
Grealish is believed to be struggling with a thigh issue, while Kovacic suffered a back injury on international duty with Croatia.
Speaking in his post-match press conference from the London Stadium, Guardiola is quoted by Beanyman Sports as saying: “Kevin is still out, John is still out, Mateo I don’t know, Jack I don’t know. When you have all the squad, you go to Newcastle with a good team. Now it’s just rest, recover, and try to arrive at the game in as best condition as possible.”
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In some ways, this could be taken as a positive.
Guardiola is clearly aware that De Bruyne and Stones are still sidelined – if that was also the case for Kovacic and Grealish, surely it would have been made clear.
Therefore, some hope has been offered that the duo could return for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade, or Saturday’s meeting with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Kovacic aside, Grealish may be sweating over his spot at Manchester City under Guardiola
While Grealish has been absent, Jeremy Doku is in electric form in that role on the left wing.
The Belgium international scored his first goal for Manchester City in Saturday’s 3-1 win over West Ham, and offers the Citizens a unique attacking threat which fans haven’t seen for a while.
Nevertheless, every side wants two top players in each position to provide competition – Guardiola certainly has that in Grealish and Doku.