Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is crossing his fingers that Erling Haaland will bounce back in time for the weekend after the striker hobbled out of Sunday’s bruising 1-1 draw with Arsenal due to injury. The Norwegian powerhouse shocked fans at the Emirates when he signalled to the bench after 76 minutes, complaining of sharp pain in his back. Guardiola had little choice but to hook off his star man, raising alarm bells just days before another relentless run of fixtures.
Cup clash likely to come too soon
City head to Huddersfield on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, but the 25-year-old is almost certain to sit that one out. Guardiola admitted that the midweek tie will come too early, but offered a glimmer of hope that Haaland could be back in action for Saturday’s Premier League showdown with Burnley at the Etihad.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesGuardiola remains optimistic about Haaland
Sharing an update on Haaland, Guardiola said on Tuesday: "Recovery yesterday [Monday], he didn't train and I didn't see him and the rest of the players yet today. Hopefully he can play at the weekend. It's been such a demanding week, the last game especially, and sometimes the players have problems. I think he will be fine for the weekend. I hope so."
Pep to make several changes for low-priority game
Guardiola has run with the same starting XI for the matches against Manchester United, Napoli and Arsenal, but that consistency is about to break. The Catalan confirmed he’ll be rotating heavily at Huddersfield, with Haaland far from the only big name getting a breather.
"It won't be the same starting XI as the last three games," Guardiola added. "The only problem for the Carabao Cup is we respect this competition but arriving at the competition with no injuries and we have injuries. It will be a mix with academy players to play because the priority is Burnley, Monaco and Brentford. It would have been perfect for [Rayan] Cherki, [Rayan] Ait-Nouri, Omar [Marmoush] but there are many players who can't play because they are injured. We will try to compete and go through."
Getty ImagesGuardiola braced for crunch run
With Huddersfield in midweek, Burnley at home on Saturday, Monaco in Europe and Brentford looming after that, Guardiola knows he has little margin for error. The relentless fixture list is already biting, and keeping Haaland fit could define the weeks ahead.
