Pep sweating on Grealish, Silva injuries after win

Pep Guardiola is sweating on the fitness of Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva after the Manchester City pair limped off during the 3-1 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Grealish, starting a game for the first time in more than a month, was substituted after just 21 minutes with a groin problem while Silva, who scored City’s second goal, sustained a heavy knock to his ankle in the second half.

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City face Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and face a crucial month in March with games against Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton and Arsenal.

“I didn’t speak with the doctor but it looks muscular with Jack,” said Guardiola.

“The last few days his mood in training was much better.

“He felt it on the grass and started to complain. The players can feel it immediately if it’s muscular. He wanted to continue but we didn’t want to make the damage even worse. We’ll take tests tomorrow [Wednesday]. Bernardo has a big knock on his ankle.”

Guardiola has welcomed back Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland into his squad but midfielder Mateo Kovacic and defender Josko Gvardiol were unable to make the trip to Denmark because of injuries.

“Josko is two or three weeks [out]. It’s ankle ligament. Kova could come back. Every game and training session we lose players and that is not good.”

Injuries to Grealish and Silva were a blow to Guardiola on a night when City took a big step towards the Champions League quarterfinals.

De Bruyne scored the first before making goals for Silva and Phil Foden to give the reigning champions a big advantage ahead of the second leg in Manchester on March 6.

“I know how difficult it is,” Guardiola said.

“It’s a really tough opponent. We made perfect concepts today. My job is to warn the players about the attributes they have.

“We behaved with character, personality and patience. Everyone was at a top level. It’s not decisive but it’s a good result. Hopefully we can make the quarterfinals.”