Grealish Set for Spell on Sidelines with Groin Injury, Could Miss England Friendlies

Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Luton Town v Manchester City - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - February 27, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish at the end of the first half after being substituted. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Luton Town v Manchester City - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - February 27, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish at the end of the first half after being substituted. (Reuters)
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Grealish Set for Spell on Sidelines with Groin Injury, Could Miss England Friendlies

Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Luton Town v Manchester City - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - February 27, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish at the end of the first half after being substituted. (Reuters)
Football - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Luton Town v Manchester City - Kenilworth Road, Luton, Britain - February 27, 2024 Manchester City's Jack Grealish at the end of the first half after being substituted. (Reuters)

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish likely will be sidelined for multiple weeks because of a groin injury that also threatens to keep him out of England’s upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

Grealish was substituted before halftime of City's 6-2 rout of Luton on Tuesday in the FA Cup with a recurrence of the injury that forced him to miss the previous three games.

"When he will come back I don't know," City manager Pep Guardiola said Friday.

The 28-year-old Grealish is set to miss some key games. City hosts Manchester United on Sunday, then Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday before a heavyweight Premier League showdown against Liverpool at Anfield on March 10. That's followed by City's FA Cup quarterfinal against Newcastle.

Grealish won't be back before the international break, Guardiola said.

England hosts Brazil on March 23 and Belgium three days later, both at Wembley Stadium, to help England coach Gareth Southgate evaluate his squad ahead of this summer's European Championship.

"I need to speak with Gareth but I think he will not be fit," Guardiola said. "He has to recover well. He had a setback, he has to recover well to use him as much as possible."



Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

 Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

 Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)

Real Madrid hopes some home comfort will help the team get over yet another embarrassing loss to Barcelona.

After losing 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, Madrid has a run of three home games over seven days.

The home run begins on Thursday against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey last 16. Las Palmas visits on Sunday in La Liga then Salzburg on Jan. 22 in the Champions League.

“We are sad and disappointed,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have no option but to look forward and try to regain the good momentum that we had until this match against Barcelona.”

Madrid won five in a row across all competitions before the loss to Barcelona. The Catalan side also routed Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October in La Liga.

“We have to stick together, be a team and react the same as we did after losing to them in La Liga,” Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said. “We showed a reaction and I hope we will react to this tough defeat, because we didn’t think we would lose like this. It’s good that the Copa game is coming up soon and we won’t have much time for regrets.

“It’s not nice to see your greatest rival score nine goals in two matches. But I’m sure that we are going to recover. We need to remain united and keep working hard. We are still going to give our fans a lot of reasons to celebrate. It’s a long season.”

Madrid is in second place at the halfway point in the Spanish league, one point behind city rival Atletico Madrid and five points ahead of third-placed Barcelona. In the Champions League, Madrid is 20th in the 36-team league phase of the competition.

Copa del Rey matches Barcelona follows the Super Cup by hosting Real Betis on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey last 16. Hansi Flick's squad has won three in a row this year after losing its last two in 2024.

Also on Wednesday, red-hot Atletico visits second-division club Elche looking to extend its 14-game winning streak in all competitions, already a club record.

Defending Copa champion Athletic Bilbao hosts Osasuna on Thursday, while Rao Vallecano visits Real Sociedad.