Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has a few injury concerns to contend with ahead of his side’s trip to Leicester on Saturday – including a rather large one in attack.
Erling Haaland came off at half-time during City’s 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, with the Norwegian striker suffering from an injury to his foot.
In his press conference on Friday, Guardiola admitted he was unsure if Haaland would be able to take part against Leicester, claiming the club still needed to run some tests on their star man but also didn’t rule his top scorer out of the game.
“He feels better, but we train this afternoon, and we will assess in these few hours,” said Guardiola.
“We will see how he feels. After we will decide – I will know it in two hours if he can play. “
Meanwhile, the only other outstanding absentees within the City squad are Kyle Walker and Kalvin Philips, with the two England internationals both recovering from surgery following injuries picked up earlier in the campaign.
Both players still hope to recover in time to make England’s squad for the World Cup next month.
“They are not ready for Leicester,” Guardiola confirmed.
“They are better, Kalvin especially. Apparently, when he came to Dortmund, he said he feels really well. He started to train with contact with the ball – he has not trained with his team-mates yet, but he feels really well, and we are surprised.
“If he is fit and can play (at the World Cup) he can play, but right now, we don’t know.
“They [Walker and Phillips] are optimistic. They are in touch with Gareth [Southgate]. Hopefully they can be ready and get selected.”
Guardiola also confirmed that goalkeeper Ederson would be fit to face Leicester, having missed the Dortmund game in midweek.
Credit: 90min.com
