- Jack Grealish was forced off just before half-time against Luton on Tuesday night
- Boss Pep Guardiola had backed the winger to put a patchy season behind him
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Man City star Jack Grealish was consoled by team-mates after suffering fresh injury setback on Tuesday night.
The 28-year-old winger was forced off before half-time at Kenilworth Road and was visibly distraught by his latest setback.
Grealish was replaced by Jeremy Doku after 38 minutes with Pep Guardiola forced into an early change.
After coming off, an emotional Grealish was seen hiding under a training jacket before his team-mates consoled him.
It came the day after Guardiola said that Grealish is ready to put a patchy season behind him and prove key in City fight for silverware.
Grealish has three goals and two assists from 26 appearances so far this term and Guardiola doesn’t believe he’s yet hit the heights of the Treble campaign.
The 28-year-old was integral in City lifting the three major trophies but has seen summer signing Jeremy Doku regularly picked ahead of him, while two injuries have also hampered his progress.
Grealish has quickly recovered from a groin problem sustained in Copenhagen a fortnight ago and is likely to feature against Luton Town in the FA Cup fifth round on Tuesday night.
‘Over the last month, Jack is back in terms of many things,’ Guardiola said. ‘That’s why he played an important game in the Champions League in Copenhagen.
‘Hopefully he can make the impact he had last season. It depends on him. I try to be fair in my decision.
‘He played lots of minutes last season, and this season less in the beginning. He is the same player, he has the same manager, and the way we play has not changed.’
Guardiola added: ‘Nothing has changed. It’s just the way he has performed. That’s the difference. I said from day one: we need him, he has a special quality for our team. We need him. It depends on him. Hopefully he can do a good last three months.
‘The players don’t have to convince me. They have to convince themselves that they deserve to play.’
