Erling Haaland was absent from Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Leeds in the Premier League on Saturday night, but is in contention to play in the next game.
Manager Josep Guardiola talks about Erling Haaland’s injury after the match
Manager Josep Guardiola is unsure whether Erling Haaland will return to Manchester City for Wednesday’s game against Nottingham Forest. Haaland missed City’s 1-0 win against Leeds on Saturday night with a “minor injury”, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit enough to play again.
Without the Premier League’s top scorer, Guardiola was forced to adapt his approach against Leeds. Featuring Omar Marmouche and Antoine Semenyo up front, the January signing from Bournemouth scored the only goal of the game, sliding in from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s low cross.
The victory puts City under pressure before they face Chelsea on Sunday, reducing the gap to leaders Arsenal to just two points. The Gunners responded well with a 2-1 win over their rivals, but the title race will continue on Wednesday with or without Haaland.
“Two days ago in training he had some problems and a minor injury. It’s not a big problem but he’s not ready for today,” Guardiola said before kick-off at Elland Road. “We don’t have one top striker, so we’re playing with another top striker.”
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The City manager was then pressed on when he would return after the win. Asked if Haaland could play against Forest, Guardiola said: “I don’t have an answer right now. He wasn’t ready for today, but we have four days until the game against Nottingham Forest. And three days later, at 8pm, we played the FA Cup in Newcastle and then we were able to travel to Madrid in a better condition with less recovery. I’m really grateful for that. I’m grateful.”
City host relegation-threatened Forest at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night before turning their attention to the FA Cup at the weekend. As Guardiola quipped, he was not too happy about the late kick-off at St James’ Park on Saturday. The team will then face Real Madrid in Spain in the first leg of the last-16 tie on March 11.
Asked about the tough schedule, Guardiola said the burden would be eased once Haaland and winger Jeremy Doku return from injury. However, the injury to Nico O’Reilly, who was in good form against Leeds, did not improve the situation.
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Nico O’Reilly injured his ankle at Leeds (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
The 20-year-old was replaced by Tijani Lijnders in the 70th minute after receiving a knock. “It’s because of the ankle,” Guardiola explained. “He bruised his ankle but continued to play but was sidelined.”
City are unbeaten in nine games in all competitions, winning eight of them, and have improved at a crucial stage of the season after losing 3-1 to Bodo/Glimt in Norway.
“I always think that we have two months left to arrive, now we have three months, February is over, March is here. It’s all about the mindset,” Guardiola said. “It’s okay, I’ll do my best to win every game. In the end, it’s what I have to do.”
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