Manchester City faces a significant injury concern as Erling Haaland was spotted limping in training at the onset of the final international break of the season.
The striker was substituted in the second half of the routine FA Cup quarter-final victory against Newcastle on Saturday, sparking concerns over his fitness.
However, Pep Guardiola downplayed the situation and emphasized the need for caution among his players while on international duty. Guardiola stated, “He is not my player anymore from now on, what they will decide will be fine. They know that they fought a lot and trained a lot, with a lot of adrenaline and concentration to arrive in this position.”
“They know they are friendly games and they have to handle it wisely. Hopefully they can do it.”
However, videos depicting Haaland hunched over in training with Norway, clutching his knees in discomfort during a session, and moving slowly around the practice pitches, have emerged, raising immediate concern. Despite attempting to play through the issue, the forward seemed to struggle with his mobility.
After hobbling around for 10 seconds, he shook his head and then bent over, appearing to be in pain. Haaland will now be aiming to regain full fitness for upcoming matches against Czech Republic and Slovakia in the coming week.
Manchester City’s next fixture is against Arsenal in another crucial Premier League showdown. The two teams are set to face off on March 31 at the Etihad Stadium.
