Pep Guardiola spoke about light at the end of the tunnel for Oscar Bobb and his injury nightmare. For Jack Grealish, there is no way out of the tunnel and this weekend could see a further setback in his mission to return for Manchester City.
A last-minute substitute at Tottenham, Grealish did not touch the ball in his latest comeback from injury, this his 150th appearance for the club. The FA Cup clash with Plymouth should be a perfect chance for him to start again after previous returns at Leyton Orient and against Real Madrid ended abruptly.
However, Guardiola admitted Grealish may not be ready to play in such a physical game, raising more doubts over his long-term fitness. Grealish has started back-to-back games for City just once since September and has not completed 90 minutes twice in a row all campaign.
READ MORE: Man United U18s vs Arsenal FA Youth Cup highlights as Reds earn dramatic extra time victory
READ MORE: Manchester United unearth rising academy star for Ruben Amorim during FA Youth Cup thriller
Guardiola jumped to Grealish's defence in terms of what he can offer, but insisted that he cannot wait around for the £100m man to get fit - especially with Jeremy Doku and Savinho in good form.
"Listen, Jack played at Orient and was really good, then played against Madrid afterwards. Madrid is not a friendly, right?" said Guardiola. "After 20 minutes he was out, injured. It has happened this season, you see Jeremy now and Savio in that position because it's obvious they have to play.
"The reason Jack didn’t play much was because he was not able. He had niggles and problems. For this game, I don’t know if he will be ready to play in a game where you have to be there [physically]. This is the question.
"There is no question mark about his quality, I’ve never ever doubted the quality Jack has. But because of problems he has not played three games in a row."
Grealish did manage three starts in succession for City at the beginning of the season but there were two international games in the middle of that run and he was then dropped against Arsenal. It wasn't long until he suffered his first injury of the campaign and he has been unable to feature regularly since. He has not started in the Premier League since before Christmas.
Guardiola continued: "He played well against Nottingham Forest then afterwards didn’t play and in a training session was injured again. Not big issues but he could not make a big effort and sprint again and again and again. This is the only question mark, not any other question mark."
As Guardiola looks at what his squad will be like next season, he trumpeted Doku and Savinho as the 'future' of his attack at Tottenham. He said he expects his contracted players to remain at the Etihad next season as talk grows in the background over Grealish's longer-term future.
The FA Cup would be a perfect opportunity for Grealish to remind Guardiola of the quality the manager talks about. But if he can't be fit - or physical enough - then perhaps that tells City what they need to know.
And if he can't play, he can't win his place back. It's a never-ending cycle with no sign of light at the tunnel.
