The £100 million England international Jack Grealish has been ruled out of this weekend’s Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola confirmed the news today, stating that the former Aston Villa man will miss the all important match against United.
Jack Grealish played fewer than 40 minutes in City’s 6-2 FA Cup victory against Luton Town. Fourteen months prior, Grealish had opened the scoring in United’s thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over City.
Grealish, who was clearly upset as he watched Erling Haaland score five goals from the bench in the FA Cup, has now been declared out for an indefinite amount of time. The Manchester Derby is the first of perhaps many games he will miss.
“He will not be fit this weekend. When he comes back, I don’t know,” Guardiola tells the Manchester Evening News.
“Setbacks are always there in life. He will overcome it.”
Ever since Marcus Rashford’s late goal gave Erik ten Hag’s team the historic victory in January 2023, Man United have fallen short against City twice.
The treble-winners, who had defeated the Red Devils in the FA Cup final, easily defeated United 3-0 at Old Trafford, but not without controversy surrounding the penalty that was given against Rasmus Hojlund.
The latest Manchester derby holds huge importance for both the teams. City are fighting for the Premier League title against Liverpool and Arsenal, and any slip up from Guardiola’s team could prove to be crucial in the title race.
While Man United are involved in the top-four race against Aston Villa and Tottenham. After last week’s defeat against Fulham, the Red Devils cannot afford to lose more ground on the teams above them.
