Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has delivered the latest injury update on Erling Haaland and the striker’s projected recovery time.
The 24-year-old was forced off midway through the second half of the Citizens’ 2-1 comeback win over Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday shortly after scoring the equaliser.
Haaland was spotted leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches while wearing a protective boot and Man City have since released a statement confirming that the Norwegian has sustained an injury to his left ankle.
Man City are hopeful that Haaland will be fit in time to return before the end of the season, but “assessment remains ongoing to ascertain a full prognosis”.
Guardiola has since reacted to the disappointing news and has revealed when the club expects Haaland to make his first-team comeback.
Haaland set to miss at least six games as striker targets May return
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of Man City’s Premier League clash with Leicester City on Wednesday, Guardiola said: “The doctors told me between five and seven weeks. So hopefully for the end of season and FIFA Club World Cup he will be ready.
“Sometimes there are years where these kinds of things happen. It’s happened all season. I would say it could have been different if it was at the end of season.
“All injuries that happen all season I am sorry for them and I am sorry for Erling too. As quick a recovery as possible to come back. We don’t have another player with his skills or specific qualities, we know that but we have to adapt.
“For many years we play with different ways up front and it depends on the qualities of the players. We’re going to find another solution. We will find a solution for the players that we have with different skills and qualities. We will find that.”
Guardiola has encouraged the rest of his Citizens squad to adapt and step up in Haaland’s absence, adding: “We need players with other qualities and we have to bring more players close to the box.
“Erling’s numbers again have been exceptional and is an incredible threat for many things with long balls and his sense of goal, but we have to adjust.
“It’s not about training, I know which players have a sense of goal more than other ones. Everyone knows these players and we have to get them close to the box.”
Should Haaland be sidelined for at least five weeks, Man City will have to cope without their star striker for at least five Premier League games up until the week commencing May 5 against Leicester, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest at the end of April.
Marmoush set to spearhead Man City attack in Haaland’s absence
In what has been a disappointing 2024-25 season for Man City overall, Haaland has still managed to score an impressive 30 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions.
Haaland’s latest strike against Bournemouth saw him become the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy from 2001-02 to 2003-04 to score at least 30 goals in each of his first three seasons for a Premier League club.
In the absence of Haaland, Guardiola is likely to call upon Omar Marmoush, who replaced the Norwegian against Bournemouth and scored what proved to be the winning goal just three minutes after coming off the substitutes’ bench.
Marmoush, who has now scored five goals in 11 games for the Citizens since joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in January, is in contention to lead the line for Guardiola’s side against relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.
The Citizens, who find themselves in a hotly-contested battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League, currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, just one point behind Chelsea in fourth spot with nine games left to play.
