MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Jack Grealish will given all the time he needs to recover from latest injury setback, there will be no Merseyside stay ahead of crunch clash with Liverpool… and a club great returns in new academy role

The loss of Jack Grealish has been the only real problem for Manchester City in recent weeks, with the midfielder making his return from injury at Luton Town in the 38th minute.

Comforted by Phil Foden, Grealish looked distraught on the bench after a recurrence of the groin problem that had kept him out a fortnight earlier.

Pep Guardiola has predicted this latest setback will last a little longer, with this month’s international break identified as a vague date for a return to training by the City boss.

City are giving the 28-year-old all the time he needs to ensure the matter is fully clarified before reintegrating him into the squad – even at this crucial stage of the season, with Guardiola’s side one point behind Liverpool and in the final phase of the season. eight from both cup competitions.

It is believed that Grealish probably came back from the initial injury too quickly and therefore caused more damage last week.

It’s hard to blame him as this season has been a rollercoaster. A dead leg suffered in August – ‘the worst thing the doctor has ever seen’ – was not a good start before Jeremy Doku’s encouraging form saw the Belgian preferred on the left wing in the early months.

A home invasion and illness caused further complications, and the way Grealish wanted to continue after initially pulling his cross in Copenhagen made it clear how much he feels he has to prove. The city hopes a more relaxed rehabilitation will be to their mutual benefit.

City decides not to have a hotel stay in Liverpool to avoid fan craziness

Given the recent acrimony surrounding the match, there is always a lot of thought on both sides about City versus Liverpool.

City would normally travel to away games the night before, but are once again choosing to limit the risk of potential fireworks displays or general shenanigans around their hotel by staying in Manchester on Saturday evening.

They will have a final session ahead of the title clash on Saturday before taking the coach to Merseyside the morning after. They will likely spend some time at a nearby hotel for a pre-match meal in the hours before kickoff.

Although there are only 35 miles between the northern powers, Liverpool have stayed in Manchester in the past – most notably during a Europa League knockout tie at Old Trafford in 2016 when their evening went off without a hitch.

Guardiola’s side will be back in blue at Anfield after wearing the third kit last season, a memorable strip due to Joao Cancelo’s mistake that set up Mohamed Salah for a winner. The other difference this year is that they arrive as world champions, with a gold badge. City will need that look as they have only won twice on the pitch in 21 years – and one of those was during Project Restart.

City’s sneak peak behind the new Netflix doc

You currently can’t walk around the City Football Academy (CFA) without getting punched in the face by Netflix. There are hundreds of televisions in the building and the majority of them are playing the trailer for the six-part docuseries before it airs on the streaming platform starting April 2.

The usual characters – Grealish, Erling Haaland – feature prominently, as you’d expect, but perhaps the most interesting aspect is a quick glimpse into the dressing room as City lost to Southampton in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

In scenes reminiscent of his speech during an FA Cup defeat to Wigan in 2018, Guardiola can be seen berating the players at half-time, but sources have suggested that the short clip – which sees Guardiola sarcastically saying ‘WOW’ to describe their despicable actions – just a small part of an all-time rant that made it into the episode.

It clearly had an impact on the evening, with captain Ilkay Gundogan admitting at the time that ‘something is missing, something is not right’ and claiming the players lacked the ‘hunger and desire of recent years’.

City great returns to oversee youth development

A familiar face has returned to the CFA this week as former defender Richard Dunne started his new role as youth development coach in the club’s academy.

Dunne, 44, spent a decade as a player at City, the centre-half winning four consecutive Player of the Year awards in 2005 under Kevin Keegan, Stuart Pearce and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The son of the former Republic of Ireland international, Tayo, plays in France and the family lives in Monaco. Dunne has joined City on a temporary basis and is currently assisting the under-16s.

Sneakerheads are purchasing 300 pairs of limited-edition City sneakers

Gone are the days of hundreds of supporters queuing outside megastores for the latest gear, although there were some profits to be made from the club’s merchandise this week.

They launched a new, special, limited-edition member edition of a Treble Puma trainer on Tuesday, and the 300 pairs sold out in 10 minutes. Sounds like it was the fastest finger first on the website.

Premier League prevents the U23 clash from being broadcast

This is a national problem for the academies, but City were unable to broadcast the Elite Development Squad (U23) win over Nottingham Forest on Monday due to Premier League rules.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s side won 2-0, but any fans who wanted to watch had to be present instead of streaming the match. City TV normally shows youth academy matches, but the league will stop this when it clashes with live senior matches – in this case Arsenal’s 6-0 clash with Sheffield United.

A number of clubs are reportedly baffled by the rules and hope they will be changed when the next broadcast rights deals are negotiated. City have already raised the issue with the Premier League.

Presumably very few fans who wanted to spend their Monday evening watching City’s next generation had little interest in the goings on at Bramall Lane anyway.