Manchester City are in a panic over Erling Haaland’s fitness following his absence from their last Premier League outing and their clash with Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League.
He has been dealing with a vague foot problem for a number of days now, with City boss Pep Guardiola claiming that he was unable to walk after their 1 – 0 loss to Aston Villa two weekends ago.
Although the game may be dead rubber, Haaland presence greatly increases their chances upfront, an area they have struggled in recently. With goals being the bread and butter of the game, having to stress over the fitness of their best goalscorer is not what the treble-winning side want to deal with.
Guardiola is unsure of the player’s return, but has put forth the Thursday after their match with Belgrade as his return date. “He will be back on Thursday, I think. We will see how he feels,” said Guardiola.
The Spanish tactician then added a caveat, stating that he is not sure, expecting more information to be available at his next press conference. “I don’t know right now [when he will be back] but the next press conference I could be more precise,” Guardiola said.
Meanwhile, there are talks about going into the market for a replacement striker in case the “bone stress” in Haaland’s foot, as they refer to it, looks worse than they believe.
This will see them without their two biggest hitters – the other being Kevin De Bruyne – for the foreseeable future. Doku also had to be taken off in one of City’s recent games thanks to a hamstring problem. Guardiola is uncertain about his return, just like Haaland, but is expressing hope that both of them will be available for their trip to Saudi Arabia for the FIFA Club World Cup.
In other news, versatile Manchester City midfielder Sergio Gomez has stated that he enjoys spending time with the Spain national team more than his City teammates.
Gomez has rarely featured for the current Champions League holders but is a regular with the Spain U-21 side. He has his sights set on a senior callup but understands that his club performances will be a key determinant in that happening.
Regardless, time spent winning at City means less to him than the few weeks he gets to wear his nation’s colours. Gomez, who has 10 goals and 9 assists with Spain’s U-21 side, says that he plays with friends at the national team.
“I have won a Premier League and a Champions League, but my greatest joys have come from the National Team,” he said. “They are more than teammates, I play with friends there and it shows on the pitch.”
He will hope to feature a lot more this December as the fixtures come hard and fast for City in all competitions.
