Guardiola's doubts over Jack Grealish limited to his fitness

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists his only doubts about Jack Grealish are limited to his fitness rather than the player's ability or future.

This season, Grealish's playing time is not stable. He only started 13 times and played a total of 25 games, which has sparked discussions about the future of this £100 million man.

Regarding the 29-year-old England winger, Guardiola said: "Listen, Jack played very well against Leyton Orient and then played against Real Madrid.

"But Real Madrid games are not friendly games, right? And he got injured after 20 minutes. It has happened a few times this season."

"The reason why Grealish hasn't played much is because his physical condition doesn't allow him to play. He's been having some small injuries and problems.

"There was never a question about his ability - I never questioned his technique, but because of these injuries he couldn't play three games in a row.

"For example, he played well against Nottingham Forest but then he was not able to play and then got injured again in training.

"Though these are not serious injuries, he is unable to maintain high-intensity running and sprinting. That is the only problem, other than that there is no doubt."

Grealish came on as a substitute in the last minute of Manchester City's Premier League match against Tottenham in midweek, but Guardiola has not yet decided whether to let him play in the upcoming FA Cup fifth round match against Championship team Plymouth.

Guardiola added: "For this game, I don't know yet if he is ready. In this kind of game you always have to be physically fit and that is a problem.