It appeared that Manchester City were going to take their treble-winning success in stride, but all of a sudden, they have started hobbling, just like their £100 million man Jack Grealish.
Following a perfect start to the Premier League season with six consecutive victories, Pep Guardiola’s team has now lost two in a row, giving rise to concerns that they may be taking a step backwards following the incredible heights they reached last year.
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The “most painful injury” was sustained by Manchester City star Jack Grealish during their match against Sheffield United.Image courtesy of Getty
Grealish is fighting his way back to full fitness after suffering a dead leg during a match against Sheffield United in August. As a result, he only played for ten minutes in each of those back-to-back defeats to Wolves and Arsenal, coming on as a late substitute in the match against Wolves.
In the normal course of events, an injury of this nature would not generate an excessive amount of concern, and definitely not for one of the players who is fouled the most and who has endured more than his fair share of injuries over the course of his career.
But this one was so serious — according to Grealish, it was the worst that City’s club doctor Max Sala had ever seen — that the England star was barely able to walk after sustaining it.
The 28-year-old provided an interesting glimpse into how the issue has hampered his campaign while speaking ahead of Friday’s friendly with Australia. He made his remarks before the match.
Grealish shared his revelation, saying, “It was the most painful injury I have ever had, even more so than the kidney injury I had six years ago.”
“I know you’re all going to laugh at me now, but even though it was just a dead leg, it was the most painful one I’ve ever had in my life.
“Over the years, I’ve gotten so many of them, and I’ve gotten pretty good at taking them, taking the hits and everything else,” she said.
“If you get a dead leg and you have a haematoma (which occurs when trauma damages veins or arteries), the blood, if you have a bad one, it’s like six centimeters,” the doctor said. 20 centimeters was mine!
“Our doctor at City, who has worked at AC Milan and everywhere else, said, ‘That’s the worst dead leg I’ve ever seen, by a mile.’ “
“And the tackle wasn’t even that bad,” she said. Ollie McBurnie faced off against Sheff U in this match. If I were to show you the tackle right now, you would tell me to “Get up.” It doesn’t even appear to be that terrible.
“When the game was over, it really hurt. On the other hand, while I was riding the coach, I thought to myself, “Nah, I need something here, doctor.”
“And then I went to walk off the coach and back into the training ground at City, and I honestly could not walk,” he said. “And I’m being completely honest.” I needed to get crutches and other medical supplies. It was the most excruciating ache imaginable.”
Grealish disclosed that the doctor at Man City said his injury was the worst he had ever seen Credit: Getty Images
Grealish, a former star for Aston Villa, had to use crutches for the following several days, and then he had trouble bending his leg. As a result, he was unable to engage in typical cardiovascular training for the next 3.5 weeks, which prevented him from doing things like riding an exercise bike.
It explains why he still does not feel entirely fit now, despite the fact that he is pain free, and he believes the few minutes of play he has had since sustaining the injury to have effectively contributed to a “mini pre-season.”
The winger has never faced successive league defeats at City until recently, and this wobble has caused skeptics to question whether Guardiola’s side still has the same hunger after achieving last season’s historic victory.
Grealish, who was a member of the team that was eliminated from the League Cup by Newcastle last month, did indicate that it has had a psychological influence on the club despite the fact that it appears there are no worlds left to explore.
He stated, “You can’t say that it is difficult to get motivated because I am not saying that it is.” But when you’ve completed the task, you may find yourself wondering, “What should I do now?”
It would have been fun to try our hands at something that neither of us had ever attempted before. Perhaps we can win all four, including the Carabao Cup, but unfortunately, we are already eliminated from the Carabao Cup competition.
Grealish has been called up for action by England ahead of Euro 2024 Credit: Getty
“Then it was maybe trying to do an Invincible season but we got beaten by Wolves, so we can’t do that either.
“It’s different. I have never been off the back of a season like the one I had.”
City are only two points off shock league leaders Tottenham, despite their recent losses, and usually start slowly.
And yet back-to-back defeats are so rare for a Guardiola team that some may consider it a crisis of sorts.
Yet when that word was put to Grealish, he hit back: “Come on! No chance.
“Obviously I’ve never lost two games in a row for City before. But it’s nowhere near a crisis.
Man City have suffered a poor run of results recently but Grealish remains confident Credit: Getty
“We had a brilliant start to the season. We didn’t win the Community Shield but then we won the Super Cup. We then won six in a row and we’ve obviously lost the last two.
“Rodri has been a big miss for us. There’s no doubt about that.
“For me, I come (to England) this week and I’ve tried to do little bits of extra fitness after training, just to try and help myself get back to full fitness.
“I feel like when I am fit, I can help any team in the world, whether that be here at England or at City.
“As soon as I go back to City, I need to get myself back in that starting XI because towards the end of last season, I was playing every single game so that’s how I want it to be.”
Man City star Grealish is no stranger to rough injuries Credit: Getty
A run-out against the Aussies and then Italy on Tuesday would help speed up his comeback.
England will be facing the Azzurri at Wembley next week for the first time since losing Euro 2020 on penalties there.
Grealish usually remembers all his games well but says that one remains a bit of a blur to him.
And at next summer’s Euros in Germany, he — and the likes of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford — are out to make up for that heartbreaking defeat by bringing home the trophy.
He added: “We just have so much talent, without putting too much pressure on ourselves, this is one we are really looking at to go into and try and win the tournament.
“Imagine how amazing it would be for the country? It would be un- believable. We do feel this is our time.”