Manchester City and Erling Haaland were at their rampant best as they thrashed Luton in their FA Cup clash on Wednesday, but the match was marred by another injury to Jack Grealish.
The England international enjoyed arguably his best season to date at the Etihad last year as he played his part in Pep Guardiola's side winning the treble.
He was expected to kick on this year, but a number of fitness issues have plagued his campaign.
The 28-year-old has been limited to just seven starts in the Premier League and has only played 16 minutes of top-flight football in 2024.
Jack Grealish suffered another injury setback
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The FA Cup tie against Luton was a rare chance for Grealish to put in some solid minutes, but he was hauled off after just 38 minutes with another injury concern.
He was visibly upset after going off the pitch and was consoled by his team-mates on the bench.
At one stage, Grealish hid his face under his training jacket and held his head in his hands.
City had already raced to a 2-0 lead at the point of Grealish' substitution with Kevin De Bruyne providing both assists for Erling Haaland.
The duo combined gain minutes after Grealish was taken off to complete the Norwegian's first half hat-trick.
Luton got themselves back into the game with goals either side of half-time, but Haaland netted two more goals in the space of three minutes to take his tally to five for the match.
Mateo Kovacic rounded things off for Guardiola's side to make it a comfortable finish for City in the end.
It's the second time Haaland has scored five goals in a match for City having done so against RB Leipzig in the Champions League last year.
While City will be delighted at easing through to the next round of the FA Cup, there will be concern on Grealish's latest injury setback.
Erling Haaland scored five goals
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Guardiola this week claimed City "need" Grealish heading into the business end of the season and called on the midfielder to break into the team on a regular basis.
“He is the same player, he has the same manager, and the way we play has not changed,” Guardiola said on Monday.
Jack Grealish looked distraught as he went off
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“It’s just the way he has performed. That’s the difference.
"I said from day one, we need him. He has a special quality for our team.
"But it depends on him. Hopefully, he can do a good last three months.”
