Gareth Southgate has made some encouraging comments about Jack Grealish, after the Manchester City winger couldn’t feature for the Three Lions over the international break.
Grealish suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury at the end of February against Luton Town in the FA Cup.
It was yet another setback for the 28-year-old, who has struggled for momentum this season, after being a crucial cog in the machine last term.
Grealish has been limited to just 27 appearances for City across all competitions.
He should be involved against Arsenal on Sunday, after returning to City’s bench for the game with Newcastle United before the international break.
Grealish will have been frustrated not to be involved over the international break, but Gareth Southgate has made some comments that the star will take heart from…
Gareth Southgate says Manchester City star Jack Grealish is ‘definitely not’ out of the picture for England
Grealish has never really been a nailed on regular for England.
And given his injury problems this season, there has been a bit of talk recently about whether Grealish’s position in the squad could be under threat.
Recently, pundit Ally McCoist expressed his concerns about Grealish, insisting that the former Aston Villa captain has been ‘hampered’ by his injuries and needs to play regularly between now and the end of the season.
The emergence of Anthony Gordon, Jarrod Bowen and Cole Palmer isn’t particularly good news for him. But Southgate made some comments about Grealish that will leave him feeling optimistic.
He said (as quoted by the Daily Star): “I wouldn’t rule Cole out of that equation. Jack is definitely not out of the picture. I spoke to him before I named the squad.
“He was back into training, but I didn’t think for these games he was going to be at a physical level to be able to compete. But as I said when I named the squad, Gordon and Bowen are pushing those guys.”
Grealish will be in England’s Euro 2024 squad if he stays fit for Man City
Grealish is in a bit of a precarious position at the moment, because other players are making their cases to be in the England Euro 2024 squad, while he has injury problems.
But the star should take heart from Southgate’s comments.
He has been a regular pick for squads in recent times, and you would imagine that he will get a seat on that plane if he doesn’t have any more fitness problems leading into the summer.
The key for Grealish is to simply stay fit, and build momentum.
As a unique player, he will surely get the nod this summer provided he can stay off the treatment table.
