Jack Grealish shares 20-word message on Instagram after missing Community Shield clash against Manchester United

Jack Grealish shared a message with fans and his teammates as he watched Manchester City take on Manchester United in the FA Cup Community Shield. As per the Mirror, he was set to start the game but was ruled out in the 11th hour owing to a training injury.

Grealish nevertheless watched the match on television as the two teams faced each other at Wembley on Saturday (10 August). He posted a photo of his TV screen on his Instagram story with the caption:

"Come on the boys. Gutted to not be out there today but will hopefully be back as soon as possible."

Image: @jackgrealish on Instagram

The extent or even the exact nature of Grealish's injury is yet to be known but if his words are to go by, he could return to action sooner rather than later. He will be looking to bounce back from an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign where he registered just three goals and as many assists in 36 matches across competitions.

Manchester City, meanwhile, got over the line against Manchester United in the Community Shield without Grealish's help. Bernardo Silva scored seven minutes after Alejandro Garnacho's 82nd-minute opener to force a shootout, which the Cityzens won 7-6. Grealish even posted a snippet of Manuel Akanji scoring the winning penalty.

Image: @jackgrealish on Instagram

This was the seventh time Manchester City won the domestic season's curtain-raiser and their third such victory under Pep Guardiola.

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Jack Grealish is fighting for a place in Manchester City XI, says pundit

Former Chelsea player Tony Cascarino has stated that Jack Grealish is not a fixed starter in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City team. In fact, he believes he could even be a third-choice player in his position at the Etihad.

The creative playmaker faces competition for a starting berth from the likes of Bernardo Silva, Jeremy Doku, and Phil Foden down the flanks. Having cost £100 million in the summer of 2021, the England international hasn't always succeeded in living up to his price tag.

Cascarino, however, claims that Grealish has worked hard in the pre-season to stake a claim for a place in Guardiola's starting XI. The pundit said on TalkSPORT (via Manchestercity.news):

"I’ve heard a lot this summer that Jack Grealish has really put himself through to give him the hardest pre-season and be absolutely ready... The problem he’s got, he went from not second choice, he went to third choice at City. That’s a big difference.

“When [Jeremy] Doku got in front of him, Jack was falling down the pecking order quite quickly. And for periods he was third choice in whether he would play in big Champions League games, whether he would play in big Premier League games. Jack is fighting for a place at Man City. That’s clear, but that’s the way Guardiola wants it."

Grealish was notably dropped from England's squad for the UEFA Euro 2024, where they finished runners-up to Spain.