Manchester City suffer injury blow ahead of Liverpool showdown

Jack Grealish had to be substituted during the first half of Manchester City's FA Cup win over Luton Town on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola confirming an injury to his No. 10.

The former Aston Villa star was replaced in discomfort after just 38 minutes of the 6-2 win at Kenilworth Road and had to be consoled by teammates on the bench as he appeared visibly upset.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola confirmed Grealish had suffered a recurrence of a groin injury.

"I didn't speak to doctors but I think he complained a bit about the groin," revealed Guardiola. "Maybe a little bit similar. He felt really good but unfortunately was injured again at the beginning of the game.

"It's been a tough season for him, has to recover well and help us when he's able to come back."

A pivotal player for City last season as they won the treble, Grealish has struggled for form and fitness in 2023/24, with the groin issue the latest setback.

Liverpool face City on 10 March at Anfield, with the England international now in a race against time to be involved.

Guardiola's side take on rivals Manchester United this weekend and have the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Copenhagen before taking on Liverpool next month.

The Reds, meanwhile, host Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday and then have fixtures against Nottingham Forest (away) and Sparta Prague (away) prior to the visit of City.

Jurgen Klopp's side, of course, face more than their own share of injury issues, with as many as 12 first-team players still sidelined.

Liverpool will hope to welcome back the likes of Darwin Nunez, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai before the title showdown against the reigning champions. However, players such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota are not expected back in action until after the March international break.

Besides Grealish, Josko Gvardiol is City's only other current injury doubt. The Croatian defender is expected back at the start of March.