Pep Guardiola disclosed that Manchester City’s injured striker Erling Haaland is expected to remain sidelined until the end of January. Haaland has been absent from the team for the past eight games due to a foot injury suffered in early December, posing a significant challenge to City’s quest for retaining the Premier League title.
Initially hopeful for an early return in the new year, Guardiola acknowledged that Haaland’s recovery is more complicated than anticipated. The 23-year-old has yet to resume full training, raising concerns for City.
Guardiola is optimistic that Haaland can intensify his rehabilitation during City’s warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi following Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Newcastle.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Guardiola said, “Yes, a little bit of disturbing problems in his feet. It’s fine, but the doctors decided to stop for one week and maybe restart in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully, at the end of this month, he’ll be ready. It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. It’s the bone. It needs time. With every injury, you can do whatever you want, but it’s a question of time.”
Haaland, who scored 52 goals last season and netted 19 this term, is sorely missed by City as they trail league leaders Liverpool by five points.
Guardiola acknowledged the significance of Haaland’s absence, stating, “We miss Erling a lot. We need him. Hopefully, he can come back and play the last four or five months without a problem. When you are injured at the end of November, you miss a lot of games. It’s the toughest period.”
Adding to City’s challenges, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji is also set for a stint on the sidelines after sustaining an injury in last weekend’s FA Cup third-round victory. Akanji joins fellow centre-back John Stones on City’s list of injured players.
“He will be some weeks out. It’s not a big problem but until the end of the month,” Guardiola confirmed. “Now we’re lucky that we don’t have games in the next 10 days after Newcastle. We’ll see how they feel in the good weather in Abu Dhabi.”