Erling Haaland’s fitness worries have been downplayed by Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola who hinted that the City striker will be ready to face Chelsea on Sunday.
Haaland was withdrawn at halftime during Man City’s 6-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday due to an ankle problem.
He is likely to miss City’s game against Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday, and with City having important Premier League games against Chelsea and Liverpool either side of the international break coming up, their fans could be worried, but Guardiola has given a positive update about the striker.
“Yesterday [Sunday] he told me he feels much better than on the day of the game but I don’t know,” Guardiola told a news conference on Monday.
“I will listen to the doctors. If he says he is ready and does not have pain I will consider him to play [against Young Boys].
“Right now if Erling can’t play, Julián [Álvarez] will play there. Julian is quite good! I like him arriving as a striker and he can play both so we’re really pleased.”
Haaland currently leads the scoring charts in the Premier League with 11 goals, but he’s managed just two in the Champions League. He scored both goals against City’s Tuesday opponents.
The Norwegian might be his team’s dangerman, but City have enough quality to see off Young Boys.
A win for them on Tuesday will ensure they secure a spot in the knockout phase -for the 11th consecutive season- with two games to spare.
City have made it past the quarterfinals in the last three seasons. This kind of consistency has Guardiola heap praise on his team especially given in the same period, their major rivals have each missed out on the competition at least once.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “We want to have the chance to finish before February, for the next stage. It means a lot coming after [Roberto] Mancini and [Manuel] Pellegrini [Guardiola’s predecessors at City.]
“Being there is a success and every time we qualify is really good. Hopefully we can finish the job.”
