Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed he isn’t sure how long Erling Haaland will be out for after the Norwegian picked up a knock against Borussia Dortmund this week.
Guardiola and co were held to a 0-0 draw for the second Champions League match in a row on Tuesday night, with Dortmund keeping them at bay just as Copenhagen did two weeks ago.
Their quest to break down their opponents was made all the more difficult by the fact that star striker Haaland was subbed off at half-time, with Bernardo Silva replacing him.
His manager says there were multiple reasons behind such a change, including the fact that the 22-year-old picked up a foot injury in the first half.
“There were three things,” Guardiola said in the post-match press conference when asked why he took Haaland off. “Firstly, I saw him so tired. The second one [was] he had a bit of a fever, like Joao Cancelo. The third, he had a knock on his foot. That’s why he wasn’t able to play in the second half.”
As for how serious that foot injury is, the Spaniard isn’t sure, saying his medical team was concerned but that the player was walking okay at the end of the night.
“I don’t know right now,” he said when asked about the extent of the issue. “[The medical staff] were a little bit concerned at half-time, but I saw him walking okay at the end, so we’ll have to see.”
The draw was enough to guarantee that Manchester City will finish top of their Champions League group with a game to spare, while Dortmund follow them into the last 16 in second place.
Credit: 90min.com
