Manchester derby: Pep confirms City to miss injured Jack Grealish until international break

The groin injury could rule him out of England's friendlies against Brazil and Belgi

Jack Grealish Manchester City's Jack Grealish | AP

Manchester City's Jack Grealish is likely to be sidelined for several weeks due to a groin injury, reports said. The development could rule him out of England's upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Jack Grealish was forced to leave the pitch ahead of halftime when Manchester City met Luton on Tuesday in the FA Cup tie. The English champions went on to win the game 6-2. It was a recurrence of the injury that forced Grealish to miss the previous three games that forced Pep to substitute him, reports said.

When asked about Grealish's comeback date, Guardiola had no clear answer. But the gaffer was certain that he wouldn't be back before the international break. "When he will come back I don't know," the City manager was quoted as saying by the Associated Press during a media interaction on Friday.

"I need to speak with Gareth but I think he will not be fit, Guardiola said. He has to recover well. He had a setback, he has to recover well to use him as much as possible," Pep added.

The 28-year-old Grealish is set to miss some key games. City hosts Manchester United on Sunday, then Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday before a heavyweight Premier League showdown against Liverpool at Anfield on March 10. That's followed by City's FA Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle.

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