Pep Guardiola was coy on whether Jack Grealish will make his debut in the Community Shield against Leicester City at Wembley after naming him on the bench for the game.
Grealish completed a £100m move to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night, signing a six-year-deal and being handed the number 10 shirt vacated by all-time top goalscorer Sergio Aguero when he left this summer.
But after only returning to training with Aston Villa at the start of the week, the playmaker's fitness is still up in the air and Guardiola would not confirm whether he'll get on the pitch for the season's traditional curtain raiser.
Speaking to ITV before the game, Guardiola said; " I don’t know. He’s here, maybe he can play, he just run for one week. We’ll see. His age, a perfect age to sign a player of his quality. Hopefully he can help us for five-six years. He’s a really good player, really good."
City have been without several regular first-team players during their pre-season preparations, with English and Brazilian players yet to return to the club following their participation at Euro 2020 and the Copa America this summer.
Youngsters Cole Palmer and Samuel Edozie have earned themselves a start against Leicester, while Grealish joins first-team regulars Bernardo Silva and Rodri on an otherwise youthful bench for the game.
Grealish will train with the side during the week too and hope to earn a first start for the club during the Premier League's opening weekend fixture against Tottenham next Sunday.
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