Man City left sweating on Bernardo Silva’s fitness as Pep Guardiola rules out Jack Grealish & Josko Gvardiol for blockbuster Chelsea match

City take on Chelsea at the Etihad on Saturday evening and manager Guardiola has revealed the state of play with absentees. The former Barcelona boss said Grealish, who went off against FC Copenhagen in midweek due to a foot injury, was unavailable, and Silva, who was taken off in the second half with a knock, will have a late fitness test. The ex-Bayern Munich manager added that Mateo Kovacic and Sergio Gomez are back training, while Gvardiol is not ready to return.

He told reporters on Friday: “Jack [Grealish] I think will not be ready. I don’t know [his condition]. I need to speak with the doctors. I only know he is not able to play tomorrow. Bernardo [Silva] we will assess today in the afternoon training session. [Mateo] Kova [Kovacic] is training and Sergio [Gomez] as well. The rest we will see.”

On Tuesday, following City's 3-1 Champions League win over Copenhagen, Guardiola added that Gvardiol would be out for "two or three weeks" with an ankle ligament issue.

Silva has become a vital player for City over the years, with the Portuguese international contributing eight goals and four assists in all competitions this season. If he is unavailable for the Cityzens that will be a big blow. However, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are back from injury and, in any case, Guardiola's men have shown they can cope without some key personnel.

If the influential Silva does not recover in time for the Chelsea clash, Guardiola's City will hope he is available for the home game against Brentford on Tuesday, or perhaps the away trip to Bournemouth on February 24.