MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Kyle Walker champing at the bit to help Treble bid, Rico Lewis happy to rile up rival fans… and Jack Grealish clears up Netflix doc doggy Poo-dunit!

Kyle Walker is desperate to get back into the swing of things and help his Manchester City teammates on all three fronts – and an indicator of that came last week.

The hamstring injury sustained on international duty has frustrated Pep Guardiola, who has made at least two pointed references to how it was tweaked during a ‘friendly’.

He’s now missed four games, and didn’t even travel to Real Madrid, so it’s not an insignificant knock. 

But Walker believes he can shrug it off, with Mail Sport told that he wanted to train the day before last week’s victory at Aston Villa.

Medical staff had to advise Walker that taking part was not a wise idea, and he’s gone on to be absent for the next three after that session. 

It does indicate how determined he is to get back involved, but City cannot afford any more fitness issues if they are to take this season right to the end.

Kyle Walker is desperate to get back to action after his hamstring injury and help the Treble bid

The defender was forced off during England’s friendly international with Brazil last month

GUARDIOLA’S CIRCULAR DRESSING ROOMS CATCH ON 

It’s been a busy week in the world of City Football Group. Not one but two new training facilities have opened around the world.

Palermo, who were acquired by CFG in 2022 and are sixth in Serie B, unveiled their first-ever training ground in Sicily.

And Melbourne City have also opened their new City Football Academy (CFA), complete with 16 dressing rooms, hydrotherapy pools and a theatre within the 84-hectare Casey Fields.

CFA facilities are uniform across the group – although Palermo have retained their traditional pink and black colours across the base. 

Circular dressing rooms are common place, first suggested by Guardiola at City, and the club-specific quotes that adorn the walls are also seen elsewhere.

‘Only together are we Palermo,’ reads one quote at the Italians’ base.

GREALISH SOLVES POO-DUNIT  

Jack Grealish doesn’t often speak to the newspapers, so when he does, you have to make it count. 

Over he came at Crystal Palace, terrific value on his season as a whole, how he owed much to Pep Guardiola and that his form is turning.

The latter point was clearly evident at Selhurst Park, where Grealish was integral in all four goals. 

And he then backed it up by being City’s most consistent attacking presence during the pulsating 3-3 draw in Madrid on Wednesday night.

But the burning question remained. His dog Skye, a star of the new Netflix documentary – which was viewed 1.8million times in its first week and nestled itself in the global top 10 – is allowed to roam free across City’s training pitches. 

Jack Grealish’s cockapoo Skye has full access to City’s training ground, as the new Netflix documentary about the club revealed 

Grealish likes to spend time with Skye and his girlfriend Sasha Attwood (left) on the grass

Grealish and Skye went for walks at City’s training ground before he moved to the suburbs

Grealish revealed that the cockapoo had done its business on one of them.

So, did the owner clean up after Skye?

‘No, I let the groundsman do it!’

Don’t say we shirk the big topics.

LEWIS AGGRO SHOWS HE’S GROWING UP 

It was all go pitchside in south-east London last weekend. Rico Lewis had scored City’s second just after the break and let’s say he enjoyed the moment, cupping his ear to the Holmesdale End. 

The celebration wasn’t really what you’d expect from Lewis, who is usually a quiet guy around the dressing room, but it proved how much it meant to him.

The home fans weren’t best pleased, hurling abuse, and that continued long after the final whistle. 

Rico Lewis was more than happy to give a bit to the Crystal Palace fans after scoring

Lewis had been doing TV duties and, when he headed for the dressing room, saw one fan screaming ‘show some respect,’ with a big of extra choice language for good measure. 

Lewis brushed it off but the irate fan had to be calmed down by a steward. A seminal moment for Lewis: his first bit of aggro with opposition supporters. 

Proof he’s growing up!

STONES IN VOGUE 

During his chat with Andy’s Man Club, the suicide prevention charity, John Stones was asked for his guilty pleasure song. Vogue by Madonna, his daughter’s favourite.

BROTHERLY LOVE FOR NON-LEAGUE 

Julian Alvarez’s two brothers, Rafael and Agustin, were both in Madrid to see the Champions League quarter-final first leg and have embedded themselves into Manchester since the Argentine’s arrival.

But they both wanted to play themselves, so turned out for Abbey Hey, three miles from the Etihad in Gorton, and plied their trade in English football’s 10th tier.

Julian Alvarez’s brothers Agustin (third right) and Rafael (second right) played non-league football for Abbey Hey last season but are currently without a club

Alvarez would regularly watch the pair, home and away, and his family went armed with packed lunches and Mate tea.

The Alvarez brothers had signed to Abbey Hey for a second season but it has now emerged that they are currently without a club. 

Presumably there will be plenty of local non-league sides who would fancy a bit of South American style among their ranks.