Erling Haaland is not going to be risked in Saudi Arabia (Picture: Getty Images)
Erling Haaland was not named in Manchester City’s squad to play Urawa Reds on Tuesday and has been ruled out of the entire Club World Cup.
The Norwegian striker is struggling with a stress injury in his foot which has kept him out of Manchester City’s last three games.
Pep Guardiola’s side won the first two of those three outings, beating Luton Town and Red Star Belgrade, but were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday in Haaland’s absence.
The Spaniard expected to have his star striker back for the trip to Saudi Arabia this month but The Daily Mail report that Haaland will play no part in the competition.
Haaland, along with Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, have been ruled out of the Club World Cup, with none of the three set to be involved if City go on to play Fluminense in the final on Friday.
De Bruyne is back in training after a serious hamstring injury and is being eased back towards serious action, while Doku is close to a return from a much less serious hamstring problem.
Speaking after his side beat Urawa Reds 3-0 on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola said: ‘Kevin started training yesterday and tomorrow he trains with us, it’s four months. He is getting better. Erling still cannot train.’
All three players could be back in the first team squad when Manchester City go to Everton in the Premier League on 27 December, although that will only be confirmed when the squad returns from Saudi Arabia and they train ahead of the fixture.
Kevin De Bruyne has returned to Manchester City training (Picture: Getty Images)
De Bruyne has made just one Premier League appearance this season, lasting 23 minutes of the season opener against Burnley before suffering injury.
The Belgian midfielder’s return to fitness will be a huge boost for Guardiola and his team amid struggles for form in the Premier League which sees them sitting fourth in the table after the draw with Palace.
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