Jack Grealish’s devastation was clear to see when he was injured, Ian Ladyman tells It’s All Kicking Off… as he says the Man City star will be thinking about his place in the England team this summer
Ian Ladyman has expressed his condolences for Jack Grealish on It’s All Kicking Off, declaring he was ‘completely sorry’ for the Manchester City star, who looked devastated after picking up an injury during his side’s 3-1 win against FC Copenhagen.
The England forward appeared to suffer a muscle injury in the first half of the match, falling to the ground and wincing in pain as he challenged Copenhagen’s Diogo Goncalves for the ball.
Pep Guardiola stated that Grealish may have had a groin problem and although the 28-year-old was able to return to the pitch for a few moments after treatment, he was eventually replaced by Jeremy Doku.
It was a rare start for the England forward, who has recently struggled for playing time following the arrival of Doku. In fact, Grealish had not started a game for City since the 5-0 win against Huddersfield in the FA Cup on January 7.
Speaking on It’s All Kicking Off, Ladyman, who was joined by Chris Sutton, also claimed Grealish will consider his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming European Championship.
Jack Grealish cut a dismayed figure on the touchline after being substituted with an injury during Man City’s 3-1 win against FC Copenhagen
It comes as Grealish has struggled for game time in recent weeks, with this being his first start since City’s win against Huddersfield in January
Ian Ladyman said he felt ‘desperately sorry’ for the injured Manchester City star
“One player who has adapted since joining City is Jack Grealish,” Ladyman said. “I’m a fan of Jack, you’re a fan of Jack. It was a great season for City last year as they won the treble and pretty much ended the season as one of their main men. Didn’t go for him this season, been off the team.
‘He started against Copenhagen on Tuesday evening and came off injured after about twenty minutes. And I have to say that he went down during a challenge, but it was immediately clear that it was a muscle injury.
“You could see the devastation on Grealish’s face before he even hit the deck because he knew he had pulled something. And I felt terribly sorry for the boy. He is a player at that club who is not having any luck this season.’
Grealish has scored three goals and two assists in 26 appearances for City so far this season but has struggled to break into Guardiola’s starting XI, starting in just seven Premier League games.
Ladyman continued: ‘I’m starting to wonder how he will cope between now and the end of the season because what he will also be thinking about is his place in England ahead of the European Championships.’
Despite this, Sutton believes his place in Southgate’s England team was not under threat. He said: ‘Do you think his place in England is in danger? I don’t see it that way.’
Ladyman replied: ‘There are other candidates, James Maddison, Cole Palmer, you know.’
But Sutton intervened and while Southgate may have been criticized in the past for his loyalty to certain players, the ex-England player stated it is likely the Three Lions boss will stick to his principles and opt for Grealish.
‘We know Gareth (Southgate) is loyal. We know Gareth is a stickler for loyalty,” he said.
While it is unclear how long Grealish will be out at this stage, Sutton reflected on what it is like to undergo injury rehabilitation while the rest of your teammates are on the training pitch.
Chris Sutton, meanwhile, dismissed claims Grealish wouldn’t make the England squad and declared Gareth Southgate is ‘loyal’
The attacker seemed to suffer a muscle injury in the first half and winced in pain
He was seen on the touchline speaking to Pep Guardiola before being substituted for Jeremy Doku
Guardiola admitted after the match that it was a ‘shame’ that he had to come off with an injury
“I’ve had a few times in my career where I’ve gone through extended periods where you’re trying to recover from an injury and you always feel like you’re playing catch-up in that regard. Have you heard of the hedonic treadmill?
“You basically want it to be eat, sleep, work and repeat. YYou want to get into a rhythm where it’s the same process every day. And if you have injuries, of course it becomes a problem: you stop.
‘You always aim to get back to the highest possible fitness level. And you try to get back into the team as quickly as possible.
‘But if you continue to lapse, as Grealish has done this season, it becomes a problem. It’s very individual, but I’ve always noticed that it affected my self-confidence. Fitness was the biggest or most important thing in my game.
‘You can turn around and say, “Well, you weren’t the fastest player, you weren’t the strongest player.” I would accept all that, but when I was 100 percent fit I had complete confidence in my game.
‘I knew I would have bad moments and bad matches, but overall I felt very strong mentally. And I think mentally when I had injuries there was always that little bit of doubt, that little bit of uncertainty. Is your hamstring going to break again or from whatever injury you’re coming back from?
‘That danger always exists. That seems to be where Jack is at the moment. There is no real power. There is no rhythm.
‘It’s difficult for him at Manchester City because they are the best team in the country, the best team in the world. And he also has Jeremy Doku, right? He (Doku) is a direct rival and he is not helping Jack Grealish, like it or not, because he is probably Manchester City’s No. 1 on the left at the moment.
City’s new signing Jeremy Doku has risen up Guardiola’s pecking order to become a regular starter above Grealish
Last night was Grealish’s first start since January 7, with Sutton saying he feels ‘Grealish hasn’t quite hit his stride yet this season’
“He’s going to have to wait and recover and be ready when he gets the chance. I know they are different players, but Jack will be desperate to get back from the injury he has as quickly as possible, but then you need time to sleep in and get back up to standard. And that’s actually his problem this season.”
He added: “Jack hasn’t really hit his stride yet this season. The problem he has with Manchester City is that they are the best team.
‘And there will always be great competition for places. And right now on the left, I think he’s in second place.”