The boss confirmed that both Ederson and De Bruyne will miss Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final clash at home to Newcastle through injury.
But Pep reported better news regarding the progress of Grealish, who he said was in contention for selection this weekend
Ederson was forced off with a muscle injury during last Sunday’s 1-1 draw away to Liverpool after being hurt in a challenge with Darwin Nunez.
Although the Brazilian initially carried on after receiving treatment, he had to be replaced soon after by Stefan Ortega.
De Bruyne also came off during the Anfield clash and was subsequently not included in the Belgium squad named earlier this week for their forthcoming friendlies against England the Republic of Ireland, with Belgian boss Domenico Tedesco citing a groin issue.
Grealish has been sidelined for the past fortnight after having to come off early in our FA Cup fifth round win at Luton with a recurrence of a groin problem.
Addressing the media at Friday’s pre-match press conference, the City manager provided the latest update on the trio.
“Kevin’s not ready. He already played in Anfield with some problems,” the City boss said.
“But he’s getting better. He’s not ready for tomorrow but we spoke with the manager from Belgium, Domenico Tedesco, and he decide I’m grateful because he didn’t feel good and he could recover for the rest of the season.
“He played well [at Anfield]. All the players have problems but the day after he didn’t feel good, but it’s better to take care.
“Eddie is getting better, hopefully he’ll be ready after the international break.
“Tomorrow for sure [he is out]. He’ll have two weeks off then, he’ll recover, we’ll see how he feels. Hopefully as soon as possible.
“Yeah [Jack is getting better.
“He’ll be selected in the group [for this weekend].”
The boss also looked ahead to the quarter-final tie with the Magpies in what will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this term.
Guardiola said he was anticipating another hugely demanding test and urged the Etihad fans to play their part in roaring the side on to victory just as they did in the derby win against Manchester United earlier this month.
“This season and previous ones since Eddie Howe was there and the people from Saudi Arabia took over, it’s always been tight games and we don’t expect anything different,” the City boss pointed out.
“We have an incredible chance at home with our people. We need in home games the support of our fans like we had against United, I don’t remember that environment for a long time.
“Tomorrow isn’t an exception. We need it to reach the semi-final at Wembley again.”
