Erling Haaland appeared to be in pain during a Manchester City training session on Monday but Pep Guardiola has confirmed the striker is fit to face Sporting Lisbon
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has quashed concerns that star striker Erling Haaland is injured, ahead of their Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon.
Despite Haaland being seen holding his shin and appearing to be in discomfort during a training session open to the press on Monday, Guardiola confirmed the 24 year old is in good shape after the team landed in Portugal that evening.
“He’s fine,” Guardiola assured, before quipping, “We have to occupy the news for 24 hours, we have to make the news as much as possible. That’s the reason why.”
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City fans will breathe easier knowing Haaland is available, especially with the team currently dealing with numerous injuries.
Absentees for the Sporting match include John Stones, Jack Grealish, and Ruben Dias, while Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake, and Jeremy Doku are not at peak fitness.
Guardiola updated: “Manu and Nathan are still with problems. Kevin is getting better, he’s having sessions with less and less pain, so we feel that he feels more comfortable. That is good news for all of us.”
“Kyle as well has had problems with his knee since he was with the national team. Doku has had a little problem with muscular issues, Savinho is getting better with his ankle. The rest are fine.”
Manchester City are eager to return to their winning form following recent setbacks, including a Carabao Cup exit at Tottenham and a Premier League defeat at Bournemouth last Saturday.
Pep Guardiola expressed his determination to get back on track, saying, “I know our standards. We have to come back to winning games, of course, but we are early in November and many things are going to happen.”
He acknowledged the tough competition, remarking, “Maybe we will lose against Brighton and Tottenham, but we lost one game and we are only two points behind a top-class team in Liverpool.”
Guardiola also addressed expectations: “I know people expect us to win 38 games 5-0 and win the treble every season because this is our standards, but this will not happen.”
Reflecting on the Bournemouth match, he conceded, “Bournemouth deserved to win by far. They were better on the day. That doesn’t mean we are bad, we are not going to fight for the titles.”
