Erling Haaland is an injury doubt ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League meeting with Leicester City on Saturday afternoon, Pep Guardiola revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference.
The 22-year-old was suffering from influenza and fatigue prior to Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund, but he had to be withdrawn at halftime due to a knock to his foot.
Haaland was limping in hospital this week and Guardiola is understandably worried about his chances of facing Leicester, but he was optimistic in his latest update.
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“He feels better, but we train (Friday) and will assess in these few hours,” Guardiola told reporters. “We will see how he feels. After we will decide – I will know it in (a few) hours if he can play.”
Haaland has played in all 11 of Man City’s Premier League games this season (100%) while featuring in four of their five Champions League group games (80%). The 22-year-old has amassed 1264 minutes on the pitch from a possible 1530 (82.6%), but his minutes need to be managed.
Haaland has a history of picking up injuries from his time at Dortmund, missing eight league games in 2020/21 and 12 league games in 2021/22, so Guardiola can’t afford to risk a setback by playing him when he’s not 100%.
Nevertheless, City will give him all the time needed to be fit, as he’s scored 22 goals from 16 games and is by far their biggest threat in the final third.
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