Manchester City will take on Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday without their club record signing Jack Grealish.
This follows a recurrence of the shin injury he sustained when captaining Aston Villa last season. The England international also missed Saturday’s 4-0 triumph against Norwich.
The injury, according to their Spanish manager Pep Guardiola, is not a significant one and Grealish is likely to return to action for the Villains soon.
“He is better but for tomorrow he is not available, along with Cole Palmer and Gabriel (Jesus),” Guardiola revealed on Monday.
The Citizen’s striker Jesus has not played since he picked up an injury while featuring for Brazil last month, and midfielder Cole Palmer, 19, is still dealing with a foot problem.
City, who are leading Liverpool in the Premier Leago, hope to improve on last season’s runner-up position in the Champions League fby winning it for the first time this season.
Guardiola said during his news conference on Monday: “To do better than last season is not so easy but we are excited to be back in this competition at this stage again.
“I know how important the Champions League is – we cannot deny it – but we take every Premier League game seriously and you saw how we behaved against Norwich.
“That’s the best proof that we do it every single game, not just in the Premier League.”
