Pep Guardiola does not expect Erling Haaland to be fit for Manchester City’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace on Saturday, and admitted the Norway striker is a doubt for next week’s Club World Cup fixtures.
City’s top scorer, who has 19 goals this season, missed last weekend’s win at Luton and the midweek victory over Red Star Belgrade with a foot injury, and has been receiving treatment in Marbella.
Haaland reported back at City on Friday morning and Guardiola said he would be assessed by club doctors before any further decisions are made.
City are due to travel to Saudi Arabia after Saturday’s match for the Club World Cup, with a semi-final against opponents yet to be determined on Tuesday. Either the final or the third-place play-off will follow on Friday.
“Haaland arrived today and the doctors will see him and we will see how he feels,” Guardiola said.
“He had treatment away. Hopefully he can travel to Saudi and we will see if he is able to play in the first game or the second game, or when we come back. I don’t think he will play [against Palace] but maybe he surprises me.
“It is not a fracture, just stress. Sometimes players recover quickly, some longer. Day by day, week by week, we see how he feels. The moment he doesn’t have pain he will play.”
City’s come-from-behind win at Kenilworth Road last Sunday ended a run of four league games without a win, and any talk of a mini-crisis of form has disappeared in the last week, with a young side earning a 3-2 win in Serbia with the help of goals from debutant Micah Hamilton and 20-year-old Oscar Bobb.
Both players are already older than the more established Rico Lewis, part of last season’s treble-winning squad, pointing to more encouraging work being done by the club’s academy, which besides first-team players has also contributed to the balance sheet with several youngsters sold on.
“For all the big clubs, the academy is an important part of many things,” Guardiola said. “We just see what happened in the last five or six years with academy players. They help us or they make a career away with a good transfer for the club to be sustainable economically.
“I know how important it is for our fans, our people to identify the young lads like Rico, Phil (Foden), Micah as well. Coming from being seven, eight, nine years old and being in the first team is something phenomenal.
“We continue to work on that and hopefully in future we can have more players like this.”
Palace will head to Manchester without a win in their last five Premier League matches, four of them defeats, but they enjoyed a famous win at the Etihad in October 2021 and have proven stubborn opponents on many occasions.
“It has always been a tough game,” Guardiola said. “How they defend is brilliant and they don’t need much at set-pieces with (Joachim) Anderson and the other guys. I don’t remember easy games against Roy Hodgson teams. With Patrick (Vieira) also, but especially with Roy.”
Asked if he could imagine still being in the game at Hodgson’s age, 76, Guardiola laughed.
“I don’t think so, but you never know!” he said. “To have the fire and passion inside to still be there and the team is really good.
“They played incredibly well against Liverpool, unfortunately they had a player sent off and with 10 against 11 against Liverpool it is almost impossible, but 11 against 11 I don’t know what would have happened.”
'Super simple' – Lille president rules out January exit for Jonathan David
Lille president Olivier Letang has categorically ruled out a January exit for forward Jonathan David amid links with a number of European clubs.
David is out of contract at the end of the season and has been touted as a target for the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona.
Speaking this week, the Canada international named Barcelona as his "dream" club but suggested he would prefer not to leave Lille mid-season.
And in an interview with After Foot RMC, Letang confirmed no bids have yet been tabled ahead of the January window.
"We are not going to sell him in January, and we have not received any offer for him," he said.
"Jonathan's situation is super simple. We are very happy to have him with us.
"Last season he had one more year left on his contract. We were trying to qualify for the Champions League.
"You have a guy who scores 20 to 25 goals a season. We had no obligation to sell him."
David is into his fifth season with Lille and has scored 97 goals in 202 games for the Ligue 1 side in all competitions while assisting a further 18.
Seven of those goals have arrived in 11 appearances this term, including in Champions League games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.
The 24-year-old's best league season with Lille saw him score 24 goals in 2022-23, while he has netted 19, 15 and 13 in the other full campaigns.
Lille chief Letang reiterated that David has been offered a new deal to stay on at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but selling him has never been an option.
"He is a player who scores between 20 and 25 goals and helps us qualify for the Champions League," he said.
"Plus, Jonathan loves Lille, which is his club. Our position was very clear from the beginning – we think of the athlete.
"Obviously, he already has an offer that is in his hands, the ball is in his court."
Guardiola suggests Man City's recent form played part in signing new contract
Pep Guardiola suggested Manchester City's run of four successive defeats was part of the reason for his contract extension.
The 53-year-old recently signed a two-year deal, which will run out in 2027, ending months of speculation about his future after his contract had been due to run out at the end of the campaign.
Following a 2-1 defeat to Brighton before the international break, Guardiola's side have lost each of their last four matches in all competitions for the first time in his managerial career.
"I felt I could not leave now. Maybe the four defeats was why," he told the club's website.
"I think we deserve, after four defeats in a row, to bounce back and try to turn the situation. I think we deserve to be here. I am not arrogant to say, but it's the truth."
Guardiola has led Manchester City to 18 major trophies during his nine-year stint at the club and posted a 72% win ratio.
He added that he was determined to help the club get back to a state where they are "more stable and more consistent".
"We have to recover that because right now we don't have it and that's the target we have to do," he said.
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak added: "Like every City fan, I am delighted that Pep's journey with Manchester City will continue, allowing his dedication, passion and innovative thinking to continue to shape the landscape of the game.
"His hunger for improvement and success remains insatiable and the direct beneficiaries of that will continue to be our players and coaching staff, the culture of our club, and the English game at large."
Leicester's Fatawu ruled out for rest of season with ACL injury
Leicester City manager Steve Cooper confirmed Abdul Fatawu will miss the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) while playing for Ghana against Angola during the international break.
Fatawu has featured in all 11 of Leicester's Premier League matches so far this season and has registered two assists.
No Leicester player has attempted (61) or completed (29) more dribbles than him, while his 30 crosses is also a team-high in the top-flight this season.
"It's not good, it's a serious injury," said Cooper ahead of their match against Chelsea on Saturday.
"It's a real blow, first and foremost for him, being a young player and having an injury as serious as what an ACL is.
"Albeit, it can be quite common in sport, and in particular football, but it's still a serious injury.
"For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us as well.
"He's obviously a big talent and a young player, as exciting as he can be at his age, with lots to learn.
"It's only a pause, and we will make sure, as difficult as it is at the moment for him, that he comes back being a stronger player and person, which, with the mentality and character that he has, I think will be the case."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
