Pep Guardiola gives Jack Grealish injury update after Man City FA Cup win v Luton

Pep Guardiola has said it looks like Jack Grealish suffered a recurrence of a groin injury in Manchester City’s 6-2 win over Luton Town on Tuesday night.

The former Aston Villa man returned to the team for the first time since picking up the initial injury on 13 February, in the Champions League win over Copenhagen. But Grealish managed just 39 minutes before he had to be replaced at Kenilworth Road, and cut a deject figure when he was replaced by Jeremy Doku.

The 28-year-old was consoled by team-mates and sat with his hood up on the substitutes bench, with his downbeat manner suggesting that it was a serious problem.

Asked after the game if Grealish had suffered another groin injury, Guardiola replied: "It looks like it. The second time. Hopefully this time he can recover well.”

But the injury was a sour note on an excellent night for the FA Cup holders, who progressed into the quarter-finals of 2024 edition of the competition thanks to five goals from Erling Haaland and a late strike from Mateo Kovacic.

The excellent Kevin De Bruyne set up four of Haaland’s goals on in a free-flowing, entertaining display from City, as they simple overawed Luton.

“The connection they have… Erling needs a player like Kevin and Kevin needs the movement from Erling,” Guardiola told ITV Sport. “But everyone else was really good.

“We are not here without the other guys. But five months injured for Kevin and two months for Erling, and still we are there. A lot of credit for everyone but you don’t have to be the manager of Man City to realise how important Erling and Kevin are for us.

"It was really good, the guys played the perfect game, Erling was on fire and Kevin... the connection is perfect. There was a lot of space in behind and it was a really good game. Here is a tough place to come."

The win sees City progress to the quarter-finals along with Coventry City, Leicester City and Newcastle United. The four remaining fifth-round games will be played on Wednesday, when the draw for the quarter-finals will also take place.