Jack Grealish has shared pictures of his gruesome 'hot cupping' treatment ahead of Manchester City's game against Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola's side take on Jurgen Klopp's team at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, knowing victory will send them 16 points clear of their pre-season Premier League title rivals. The Reds have endured a tough start to the campaign, sitting 11th in the table.
Grealish's City, meanwhile, are in great form. They're unbeaten since losing 3-1 to Liverpool in the Community Shield, as Erling Haaland has scored 20 goals in just 13 games. Yet they're still one point behind early pacesetters Arsenal, who face Leeds on Sunday.
Grealish, 27, took to Instagram ahead of the huge clash to show pictures of his cupping treatment, which involves hot glass jars being placed on the skin. The treatment looks rather painful, as it left 12 huge red marks on the England international's back.
The treatment is a form of acupuncture, designed to increase blood circulation and detoxification. It also aims to ease stress and pain. The likes of Andy Murray, Amir Khan, Anthony Joshua, Michael Phelps and Conor McGregor have used the treatment before.
Grealish is looking to become one of City's best players following his British record £100million move from Aston Villa in the summer of 2021. He failed to live up to his billing last season, scoring just six goals and providing four assists in 39 appearances.
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Grealish is in danger of being labelled a flop if he doesn't improve his return. He's scored just one goal and is yet to provide an assist in 10 outings this term, but he was named as UEFA's Player of the Match after the 5-0 Champions League win against Copenhagen.
The former Villa captain discussed the criticism he's faced after scoring against Wolves last month. He said: "Rightly so [I deserve the criticism], I should be scoring more, I should be getting more assists. The only thing I can do is score and get assists.
"I’m always going to have people talking about me with the amount I got bought for but I think if you look at my whole career I probably haven’t scored as much as certain people, even when I was at Aston Villa I think I only scored 14 or 15 goals over two seasons in the Premier League.
"It’s something that I do want to add to my game and playing with this team and in front of these fans hopefully I can."
Speaking to BT Sport last month, Rio Ferdinand - who was Britain's most expensive footballer himself between 2002 and 2006 - warned Grealish: "You only stop talking about the fee when you're producing consistently, scoring goals week in, week out.
"I understand people are questioning it, questioning about the fee but I don’t think there will be any one more frustrated or a bigger desire to prove people wrong than Jack Grealish. He’s a passionate guy about football, he wants to be the best, go to City and put his marker down."
