Pep Guardiola rules Erling Haaland out until January
Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Haaland will miss Manchester City’s final game of 2023 against Sheffield United.
The Norway international has been sidelined since playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa earlier this month.
Haaland, who is nursing a foot injury, has been forced to miss Man City’s last six matches, including two matches at the Club World Cup.
Although he travelled with the squad to the tournament, the striker was forced to train individually in Saudi Arabia.
In his absence, Man City went on to beat Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds and Brazilian side Fluminense to lift the Club World Cup trophy for the first time.
Haaland was also unable to take his place in the Man City squad for Wednesday’s 3-1 Premier League win over Everton at Goodison Park.
Pep Guardiola watched his players fight back from a goal down to claim all three points thanks to efforts from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva.
Speaking after the away victory, Guardiola provided an update on when he expects Haaland to return from his spell on the sidelines.
“Still he’s not with the team,” the Man City boss told Amazon Prime. “He feels better with his bone but he hasn’t made one training session with us.
“Unfortunately December is so congested with so many teams. January is so congested. Hopefully, in January he can come back with us.”
Guardiola’s comments confirm that Haaland will be absent for Saturday’s home clash with relegation-threatened Sheffield United.
With Haaland ruled out of the final game of the calendar year, it remains to be seen whether he returns in time for Man City’s first match of 2024.
The Citizens will begin the new year with an FA Cup tie against Huddersfield Town on January 7, before they travel to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United in their first Premier League game of the new year.
Despite missing the last three Premier League matches, Haaland is still leading the scoring charts with 14 goals in 15 top-flight appearances this season.
