Jack Grealish of Manchester City looks on from the substitute bench prior to the Premier League match between Wolves and Manches (Image: GETTY)
Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish were notably missing from the Manchester City line-up for their Champions League clash against Sparta Prague.
Both stars played a part in the nail-biting 2-1 victory over Wolves on Sunday, with Doku in the starting line-up and Grealish stepping in as a substitute for Savinho. However, they were absent from Tuesday’s training session.
The duo were not considered fit enough to join the squad for Wednesday’s match; both were labelled as ‘not fully fit’ on the club’s official website. Guardiola revealed that Grealish would be sidelined for seven to ten days, while Doku’s recovery might take slightly longer.
This brings the total number of injuries for Pep Guardiola to juggle up to six. Rodri and Oscar Bobb are out for the long haul, while Kevin De Bruyne has been absent for five weeks due to a thigh issue and Kyle Walker returned from England duty nursing a knee injury.
“The most important thing is not training sessions, it is being fit,” Guardiola emphasised on Tuesday. “If you are injured you lose eight games. Muscular, not the injuries to Oscar [Bobb] or Rodri. No injuries is the only reason why you can stay until the end of the season.
“That’s why the doctors, the medical department, the physios, the intensity you have to do, you have to be so careful because of all the travel and national teams and games every three days.
“I just pray for them to be fit, the rest will come. Talk a little bit, they get it and try to do it. The problem is how can they do it if they are out for one month and a half.”
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1966297/man-city-hit-injury-woes-grealish-doku-miss-crucial-sparta-prague-clash