“Stop talking poo poo thanks” – Jack Grealish fires back at ESPN UK over Man City pre-season claim | OneFootball

Jack Grealish has publicly corrected ESPN UK over an implication that he had been left out of Manchester City’s pre-season squad as a deliberate selection decision.

The 30-year-old, who has not played since January due to an ongoing injury, replied directly to an ESPN UK Instagram post that captioned its coverage of the Manchester City’s east Asia pre-season tour in a way that gave no indication he was absent through injury rather than by choice.

The ESPN UK post read: “Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips have been left out of Man City’s pre-season squad travelling to Asia. They haven’t played since January and February respectively.”

The phrasing – “have been left out” – carries an implication of conscious omission that drew a swift and characteristically direct response from Grealish, who clearly felt the post misrepresented a situation rooted in his physical condition rather than any decision made by Enzo Maresca and the new City manager’s coaching staff.

Grealish: “I’m still recovering from an injury – haven’t been left out”

Replying directly to the ESPN UK Instagram post, Grealish wrote: “Just to let you know I’m still recovering from an injury so I’m not training yet. Haven’t been left out so stop talking poo poo thanks.”

The reply, delivered with the same lightness of touch that has made Grealish one of the more popular footballers on social media, nonetheless carries a pointed clarification – placing the reason for his absence firmly in the medical rather than the selection column, and ensuring that anyone who had drawn conclusions from the ESPN UK framing was given an accurate version of events directly from the player himself.

The distinction matters both for Grealish’s reputation and for the public understanding of where he stands in Maresca’s plans as uncertainty remains over what the coming months hold for the England international, who is into the final year of his current deal at the Etihad Stadium.

What does Grealish’s update tell us about his Man City situation?

The clarification that Grealish is still not training – rather than simply being rested or omitted – gives a clearer picture of a recovery that has stretched into the summer and that will need to be managed carefully as pre-season progresses and the 2026-27 campaign approaches.

Maresca’s early conversations with Grealish and determination to help the forward rediscover the form that made him one of the Premier League’s most exciting wide players during City’s 2022-23 treble-winning season will be tested by whatever timeline the medical staff set for his return to full training.

Whether Grealish is fit in time to make any meaningful contribution before the Premier League season opens on 23 August against Bournemouth remains uncertain, but his willingness to engage directly with a broadcaster he felt had mischaracterised his situation suggests the edge, the personality and the desire to be involved are very much intact.

For Maresca and City director of football Hugo Viana, a fully fit Grealish later in the season would represent a genuine boost to the attacking options at the Etihad Stadium – and his public insistence that he has not been left out anywhere suggests a player determined to be part of what the new manager is building, rather than one already writing off his prospects under a new regime.