Erling Haaland missed his first Premier League game of the season as Pep Guardiola’s side traveled without their star center forward to face Luton Town in the Premier League. The Spanish boss revealed the details of the latest injury of the Norwegian striker.
Taking to Sky Sports ahead of the match, Guardiola revealed: “A bone stress reaction in his foot and after the last game he felt it. He cannot play. I don’t know [the length of the injury]. Week by week, day by day, we will see what happens. We play with 11 that’s for sure.”
Erling Haaland is 𝐍𝐎𝐓 included in Man City’s squad to face Luton Town because of an injury 🤕 pic.twitter.com/muMRCUZGmT
— 433 (@433) December 10, 2023
Stress reaction in bones is common in athletes and is caused by repetitive force and overuse to a certain extent including but not limited to jumping up and down and running long distances. All these situations are part and parcel of the game for an athlete like Erling Haaland. The extent of the injury will be revealed by the Manchester City medical team upon further scans.
This is the third injury issue for Haaland this season. The striker has missed eight days with two different ankle issues but luckily hasn’t missed any games for Manchester City until now. Haaland has started all the previous 15 Premier League games this season, in which he has scored 14 goals and four assists. He is the current top scorer in the league, ahead of Mohamed Salah of Liverpool.
Manchester City fans are keeping their fingers crossed in the hope that the striker can return to action quickly in order to take part in the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. The UCL champions are slated to face an opponent (that is TBD) in the semi-finals of the tournament on December 19.
Pep Guardiola revealed Erling Haaland’s replacement at center forward
The Manchester City boss also revealed the player that will take Haaland’s place in the attack for the Premier League Champions. Guardiola added: “Erling has been so important since he’s arrived that’s for sure. But during the season we see this sort of thing. Injuries, suspensions, problems, we have to adapt. Julian Alvarez will be playing [as our centre forward].”
Julian Alvarez has been the one-stop solution for Pep Guardiola this season. The Argentine forward has been used as a makeshift attacking midfielder in the lineup of Manchester City due to the long-term injury of Kevin de Bruyne.
Your City line-up! 📋
XI | Ederson, Walker (C), Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Rodrigo, Kovacic, Bernardo, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Phillips, Stones, Gomez, Akanji, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis#ManCity | @etihad pic.twitter.com/cq7BSwCVKh
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 10, 2023
The Argentine will now replace Haaland as the lone center forward against Luton Town, while Phil Foden will replace Alvarez at center attacking midfield. Alvarez has played 22 games in all competitions for Manchester City and has contributed eight goals and seven assists.
Manchester City is going through a rough patch, with no wins in the last four Premier League games. They have three draws and one loss in the last four matches, which saw them slip from the top of the table to fourth place. The Premier League champions are seven points adrift from Liverpool, who leads the league with 37 points.