JACK THE SAD
Heartache for Jack Grealish as he’s forced off injured in front of Thomas Tuchel after half hour of rare Man City start
Midfielder's luck appeared to be turning until new blow
JACK GREALISH has suffered injury agony in front of England manager Thomas Tuchel.
The midfielder was forced off on the half hour against Real Madrid amid a rare start for Manchester City.
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City led through Erling Haaland's 19th minute opener - with Grealish involved in the build-up.
But the former Aston Villa favourite, who had been impressive in the opening exchanges, went down on his knees not long afterwards.
He had been holding his leg at times earlier and this time needed treatment on the pitch.
The 29-year-old couldn't continue and had to be replaced by fellow Three Lions star Phil Foden.
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Etihad chief Pep Guardiola had a conversation with Grealish, who looked unsure about going straight to the dressing room.
Eventually he headed down the tunnel - a sensible choice perhaps on a bitter night.
Grealish's fortunes appeared to be on the up over the weekend, following a mediocre first half of the season in which he had limited game time.
His sublime angled pass teed up sub Kevin de Bruyne's clincher in Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup comeback win at Leyton Orient.
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Tuchel was at City for Tuesday's Champions League play-off six weeks before his first two games in charge of England.
The Three Lions face home World Cup qualifiers against Albania on March 21 and Latvia three days later.
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