Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed an update on the injury status of Erling Haaland ahead of the team’s scheduled trip to Madrid for the second leg of the 2024-25 Champions League playoff knockout, MySportDab reports.
Erling Haaland picked up an ankle issue during the club’s 4-0 mauling of Newcastle United on Saturday.
He had to be subbed off towards the closing minutes of the game, sparking fears of a possible lengthy layoff due to the blow.
Now, speaking after the match, Man City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed the player did not sustain a severe injury and will be available for the crunch Champions League playoff knockout return leg against Real Madrid next week.
“When he was down everyone was scared. He got up, walked, smiling like always”.
“I didn’t speak to him, but the doctors didn’t come with bad news,” he said as Fabrizio Romano quotes.
Haaland scored a brace in the first leg of the Real Madrid tie but it wasn’t enough to secure victory for the home side despite leading twice.
Two late goals by Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham saw Real Madrid complete a stunning 3-2 comeback against the 2022 champions.
The result leaves City’s chances against the La Liga opponents on a knife edge heading into the return leg at the Bernabeu.
An injury blow to Erling Haaland would have further dampened City’s chances. Hence, Pep Guardiola’s confirmation of his fitness is both a big numerical and psychological boost to the team going into the game.
As always, Haaland boasts a terrific individual campaign despite Man City’s struggles this season.
The double against Los Blancos saw him ramp up his Champions League tally to 48 goals in 48 games. In the Premier League, he scored 36 goals to win the Golden Boot in his debut season and a league-leading 27 last season to win the award again.
This season, he has already racked up 19 Premier League goals with 3 assists in 25 appearances and is firmly in the race to challenge for the top-scorer award again.
Against Real Madrid, City will hope to count on his prolific goal-scoring prowess to overturn the narrow 1-0 deficit in the first leg.
