MANCHESTER, England — Pep Guardiola and Lee Carsley are on a collision course over Jack Grealish after the Manchester City boss revealed his England counterpart did not contact him before calling up the injured star.
Grealish hasn’t featured for City since the 2-1 win over Wolves on Oct. 20, but was included in the England squad for games against Greece and Republic of Ireland when it was announced on Thursday.
The decision has perplexed Guardiola, who insisted Grealish is not available for City’s Premier League fixture against Brighton on Saturday.
Asked whether he spoke to Carsley before the England squad was released, Guardiola said: “No.”
“I’m not the guy to say you cannot go,” he later added. “But for my team tomorrow [Saturday] he’s not fit, he cannot play. The people from England believe he can help. So go.”
Carsley said on Thursday that Grealish has been training with City “for the last couple of days,” something that Guardiola disputed.
“He was in the gym for a few minutes, yes, the last two days,” Guardiola said.
“It’s a question for the manager from the UK. I’m not involved. They can select who they want. All I’d say is the day after Wolves, he was injured. Then 17 days out and today [Friday] was the first training with the team.”
Guardiola also revealed he has spoken to Grealish since his call-up and that the midfielder intends to join up with the squad next week.
“He said he wants to go to the national team,” Guardiola said.
City head to Brighton looking to break a three-game losing streak. They haven’t lost four games in a row in all competitions since 2006, while Guardiola has never lost four in a row during his managerial career.
“We know the reason why we struggle,” Guardiola said.
“We are looking forward to the game and then the international break. After that, a few [injured] players come back better.”