Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has revealed that Erling Haaland could return for this weekend’s Premier League clash with Fulham.
Haaland sat out their 1-0 win at Leicester City with a foot injury and a fever.
While he will not be risked for City’s Champions League dead rubber clash against Sevilla on Wednesday, he could be back in the starting XI for the visit of the Cottagers on Saturday afternoon.
Guardiola said: “He feels better but is still not 100 per cent. For tomorrow he is not available. We don’t want to take a risk.”
Haaland has scored 17 times in 11 Premier League appearances this season with his absence last weekend sending Fantasy Premier League managers scrambling.
City have already qualified from their Champions League group as group winners – despite a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund last time out where Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty.
Dortmund also progressed that night as group runners up.
Haaland has scored five times alone in three-and-a-half Champions League games this term, taking his tally for the season to 22 in all competitions.
Elsewhere, summer signing Kalvin Phillips continues to make progress in his recovery from shoulder surgery in September but is running out of time to prove his fitness for the World Cup.
I hope he plays – Rodgers
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said he is anticipating Erling Haaland plays as his team hosts Manchester City.
The Foxes head coach believes that his team should relish the prospect of facing a player who could dominate the game for the next ten years despite the fact that his place in the team against Leicester is in jeopardy.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Rodgers said: “I hope he plays.
“You want to see the best players. The beauty in the Premier League is we have a chance to see a genuine world-class player grow and progress his talent on our shores.
“He’s a brilliant player. I love everything about his game. He’s 22. Everyone can see the talent. He’s a natural goalscorer, but he clearly works on it as well. He never wastes a run. He always makes the right runs, even if the ball doesn’t always come.
“The biggest thing for me is his hunger and the effort he puts in to be the best player he can be. I read somewhere a few years back that he thought he needed to get stronger, so he put on 10kg of muscle. You don’t do that by not working hard. He’s clearly a young player who works on his game.
“He’s blessed with incredible physicality but he looks like he has the hunger to be the very best he can be. Over this next decade it will be great to follow him. I hope he plays, it will be great to measure ourselves against top talents, and he is one.”
