Pep Guardiola says 'we don't know' when Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will return - 'Day by day, week by week'
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Published 10/12/2023 at 17:16 GMT
Pep Guardiola has been dealt another blow, with confirmation that Erling Haaland will spend several weeks on the sidelines with a stress fracture in his foot. Reports began to emerge on Sunday that Haaland had been carrying the injury for some time, and now the Norwegian will be out for the matches against Red Star Belgrade and Crystal Palace, after also missing the clash with Luton Town.
'A punch in your face' - Guardiola says defeat at Aston Villa a good wake-up call for City
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that the club "don't know" when Erling Haaland will return from a foot injury.
The Norwegian was ruled out of City's Premier League clash against Luton on Sunday, with reports emerging that he had been carrying the injury for several weeks.
This has now been confirmed by the club, and means Haaland will miss the Champions League clash against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday and the visit of Crystal Palace on December 16.
Speaking before the match, Guardiola confirmed to Sky Sports: "A bone stress reaction in his foot.
"After the last game against Aston Villa, he felt it and he cannot play
"I don't know (the length of the injury). Week by week, day by day, we will see what happens.
"Erling has been so important since he's arrived, that's for sure. But during the season we see this sort of thing. Injuries, suspensions, problems, we have to adapt."
Talking later to the BBC, after the club's 2-1 win at Kenilworth Road on Sunday afternoon, Guardiola reiterated his lack of certainty but said he hoped to have him back for the Club World Cup later this month.
“We don’t know. It’s his foot, we’ll see. Day by day, week by week. Hopefully, we can recover him for the [Club] World Cup," he said.
The 23-year-old has been in blistering form this season and is the Premier League's top scorer with 14 goals in just 15 appearances.
In total, he has managed to find the net 19 times in 22 games across all competitions, and became the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool last month - doing so in just 48 games and smashing Andy Cole's previous record of 65.
City had seen their form falter in recent weeks after three draws with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham before Leon Bailey's strike consigned them to a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa, until Sunday's win.
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