What Pep Guardiola thought of Jack Grealish a few days after he returned to Man City pre-season

Jack Grealish would have been hoping to showcase to the world why he could be set to redeem himself in the FA Community Shield against Manchester United.

But Guardiola claimed Grealish had suffered a minor injury ahead of the contest that could potentially lead to him not being fully fit to play in Manchester City’s upcoming game against Chelsea.

The three-time Premier League winner will now be focused on recovering as best as possible to ensure he returns to full fitness.

Grealish will certainly be match-fit after starting against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea during the Sky Blues’ US pre-season tour.

But Tony Cascarino claimed that Grealish was putting himself through the “hardest pre-season” to ensure he is ready for the upcoming campaign.

How Guardiola reacted to Grealish in pre-season

Gabby Agbonlahor also revealed Grealish’s pre-season plans of working his heart out in pre-season with personal trainers and fitness coaches ahead of the new campaign.

It seems like the £100 million man was paying special attention to his fitness after an injury-ravaged campaign.

Guardiola lauded Grealish for how he had returned to pre-season training.

A report by The Athletic has revealed that just a few days into pre-season training, the 28-year-old managed to attract the attention of Pep Guardiola.

So much so that the Catalan was left “genuinely impressed” and discussed the former Aston Villa winger’s application since joining pre-season with others on City’s training ground.

It has also been claimed that usually, Grealish tends to be one of the players to arrive last to training, even though he is rarely ever late due to not being a morning person in particular.

As a result, the decorated attacker tends to do most of his physical work after the primary training session; ensuring he does as much as his teammates to give himself the best chance to fare well on the pitch.

But it is believed that last season, Grealish was not consistently dedicated to this very aspect of his training.

It seems like the England international is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to have a brilliant season for Manchester City now.

Jack Grealish must ultimately perform on the pitch

Ultimately, all the question surrounding Grealish and his City career will only be answered by him on the pitch once the season starts.

Premier League players are expected to be on top of their fitness regimes, playing in such a physically challenging division.

While Grealish seems to be fully dedicated, if the standards of his displays in training fail to match his showings on the pitch, questions will start to emerge whether City should persist with him beyond the upcoming season.

Especially with the likes of Jeremy Doku and Savinho at their disposal, who can both play on the left-wing.