Jack Grealish could be available for Manchester City’s clash with Sheffield United on Saturday after nobody was harmed during a burglary at his house.
Raiders targeted the England midfielder’s Cheshire home while he was playing for treble winners City at Everton on Wednesday night.
Members of his family and his fiancee, Sasha Atwood, were at the property at the time when they heard a disturbance and raised the alarm.
It has been reported the thieves made off with £1million worth of jewellery and watches and police are now investigating.
A spokeswoman for Cheshire Constabulary said: “At around 9.50pm on Wednesday 27 December police were called to reports of a burglary. The caller reported that a number of items had been stolen.”
City manager Pep Guardiola has expressed his relief that nobody was hurt.
Nothing wrong happened to the family
Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola said: “Fortunately nothing wrong happened where the family was inside.
“It is what it is today in the modern day, with many things happening. It was a bad moment for him and his family but, fortunately, what was not damaged were the people inside.”
City will again be without striker Erling Haaland and playmaker Kevin De Bruyne as they take on the struggling Blades, with defender John Stones the latest addition to the injury list.
Haaland has still not returned to full training after six games out with a foot injury and the game is too soon for De Bruyne as he nears a comeback.
Stones hobbled off at Goodison Park in midweek with an ankle injury and faces a short spell on the sidelines.
“Nothing has changed,” said Guardiola when asked about player availability. “We have the same injuries plus John Stones.”
The Blades are bottom of the table having found the going tough back in the top flight since their promotion last season, but they have produced some encouraging performances since Chris Wilder returned as manager.
Guardiola, whose side’s 3-1 win at Everton was their first in seven Premier League games, anticipates a difficult afternoon.
He said: “Always in the past, we’ve had problems against Sheffield.
They nearly won
“They made an incredible performance against Aston Villa. They were close to winning the game.
“It will be so so tough – a bit like Crystal Palace. In the last games at home we couldn’t get results, in terms of victories, so we will try to be focused on what we have to do.”
The game will be City’s last of 2023, a year in which they won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.
Asked to sum up the past 12 months, Guardiola said with some understatement: “Not bad at all. Not bad. Could be better – always – but don’t be greedy too much. It was really good.”
Andy Hampson, PA & Beat News
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