Man City’s Grealish Must Hit the Ground Running After Injury Return, Says Guardiola 

Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Man City’s Grealish Must Hit the Ground Running After Injury Return, Says Guardiola 

Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Manchester City - Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, Britain - February 24, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish must quickly find his rhythm upon his return from injury to force his way back into the Premier League club's starting line-up, manager Pep Guardiola said.

Grealish was a key player in City's treble-winning campaign last season, but his performances have been underwhelming with three goals in 26 games in all competitions this season.

The England international has not featured for City since picking up a groin injury in a 3-1 Champions League victory at FC Copenhagen earlier this month, and was left on the bench in a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.

"He is the same player, he has the same manager, and the way we play has not changed," Guardiola told reporters on Monday ahead of City's FA Cup fifth round clash against Luton Town.

"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. But it depends on him. Hopefully he can do a good last three months."

Guardiola added that he could not afford to give injured players time to ease themselves back into the team, saying: "They have to find the rhythm to play for 20 minutes or 90.

"At a high level, the team don't wait to be fit. You cannot give someone three or four games to be fit. What about the 10 who don't play? They deserve not to play?

"You have to see the training sessions and all the small details. The players don't have to convince me. They have to convince themselves that they deserve to play."

City travel to Luton in the FA Cup later on Tuesday, before hosting rivals Manchester United in a league clash on Sunday.



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.