Jack Grealish has been dropped from Everton's Carabao Cup squad to face Newcastle United following what the club described as a breach of discipline. The two Premier League sides meet in the fourth round of the competition at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The fixture had looked like a good opportunity for the Manchester City loanee to build up match sharpness after missing large parts of last season through injury. Instead, he was absent from the team sheet entirely, with Everton confirming his exclusion was not related to injury.
A club statement posted on social media before Thursday's match, relayed via The Mirror, read: "Jarrad Branthwaite remains sidelined for a second successive game due to concussion protocols, while Jack Grealish is unavailable for selection due to a breach of Club discipline."
Everton have not given further detail on the nature of the breach. The Liverpool Echo reports that Grealish did not attend a training session after missing Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Arsenal due to illness.
The exclusion comes just weeks after manager David Moyes spoke publicly about the standards he expects from the 31-year-old. Moyes said he had made clear what he wants from Grealish, noting the pair had many conversations last year and that Grealish knows an opportunity to play and show his quality awaits him at the club. Moyes added that he wants Grealish to be a senior professional and a role model, pointing to younger wide players Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling as teammates who could learn from Grealish's style of play, and saying he wants Grealish to become a senior figure who teaches them.
Moyes also described Grealish as having become more mature in his understanding of the game and what is required of him, while still playing with an individual style. He said Grealish would find it easy to carry the increased expectation that comes with a second season at the club, adding that everybody wants to see him return to the level he showed in his first three months last season, which were important in helping Everton win matches.
Moyes noted that Grealish had been out for six-and-a-half months, had no pre-season games, and played only 15 minutes in the Community Shield before this campaign, meaning he had had little real football. He said Grealish is a player who gets himself fit through matches rather than training, adding that the club needed to be careful but that he was looking good.
Grealish had a productive loan spell at Everton last season before injury cut it short. He returned to the club this summer and has made six appearances so far without registering a goal or an assist.
