Was the foot injury to Erling Haaland more severe than Manchester City initially led on? Or has the big Norwegian always been “day-to-day,” since his stress fracture problem first flared up, and the situation just continues to worsen?
Maybe it is a little of both. Perhaps Man City have been doing some gamesmanship/being coy on the Haaland injury, but we finally have some clarity now.
Sheffield United at Manchester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Dec 30, 3pm, The Etihad, Manchester, UK
Man City Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Manchester City 90% Sheffield United 3% Draw 7%
PL Form, Position: Manchester City WDWLD, 37 pts, 4th Sheffield United LDLWL, 9 pts, 20th
According to manager Pep Guardiola, Haaland is still only training individually, suffering through some nagging pain, and out until perhaps February.
“[Haaland] is training alone but he is not training with the team,” Pep said to the media after the come-from-behind win at Everton last night.
“Kevin [De Bruyne] is training with the team, but Erling is not yet. It is a question of when the pain will disappear.
“We hope he will be back in January, but a stress on the bone is so painful. He is not like a guy like Phil Foden with smaller skin — Erling is huge.
“He will be back and play. But it is up to the doctors. The doctors come every morning and say this player is available and this is not.”
De Bruyne has been out since opening day, when he re-aggravated the hamstring injury that he first suffered during the UEFA Champions League title match win in June.
He won’t be available versus Sheffield United, but he could feature next weekend, when City begins their FA Cup campaign.
“Yeah he is close. Today he had fatigue. We have to be careful,” Pep said.
“He is training with us and he is so positive. Soon he will be back. I would love [him] to play the next game or Huddersfield, but it is important to keep fit for a long time.”
Additionally, John Stones left the Everton win, in the first half, with an ankle injury. It’s a bummer for Stones, who has really suffered through an injury-riddled season thus far.
Guardiola indicated it was too early to make a full assessment of his situation.
“Sometimes you have seasons that start going bad, go bad,” Pep added.
“Hopefully the damage is not bad and we can come back. January is not so demanding as December, but still we are there.
“I have the feeling the way we are playing is good. Still, the players are angry when they not win and relatively calm when they win. That is the best way to handle the bad moments.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.