Pep Guardiola is hopeful star Erling Haaland IS fit for Manchester City’s weekend trip to Southampton… and insists the Norwegian striker is ‘on the mend’ after picking up a groin injury
Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Haaland could return to action when Manchester City travel to Southampton this weekend.
The Norwegian striker was sidelined with a groin injury in City’s 4-1 win over Liverpool on Saturday, but still managed to celebrate his goals from the stands.
City managed to get past Jurgen Klopp’s side without their prolific striker, but there will still be a number of worried fans ahead of their next meeting with Bayern Munich.
Guardiola’s team will face the Bundesliga side in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final next Tuesday, and he expects Haaland to be ready to play.
The Norwegian has played a crucial role in City’s success this year and could continue to do so against Southampton, as the City boss confirmed that Haaland will likely be fit in time to play at St Mary’s.
Erling Haaland has been recovering from a groin injury sustained late last month.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola is hopeful Haaland will be fit for their Southampton clash.
Speaking after his win over Liverpool, Guardiola revealed: ‘Erling is improving. Friday felt a little better compared to the previous two days.
“It’s five days to Southampton so hopefully he can still help us out like he has all season.”
Manchester City travel to bottom of the league, Southampton, on Saturday afternoon as they look to close the gap between themselves and league leaders Arsenal.
Guardiola also revealed that his players have been given three days off after the win over Liverpool to prepare for the end of their campaign.
“The players need to rest,” Guardiola said. “I was on vacation in my hometown in Catalonia, but they were with their national teams.
After that, if you’re still in the Champions League or the FA Cup, you have a lot of games. So stay away, then we have three days to prepare for Southampton, then Bayern Munich, Leicester, Sheffield United and Arsenal.
Haaland was injured after scoring a hat-trick in City’s 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-final late last month.
On Saturday, he watched from the stands of the Etihad Stadium as they temporarily closed the gap on league leaders Arsenal to five points.
Haaland has scored 42 goals in all competitions this season, breaking records with his ability to find the net.
Haaland was ecstatic and celebrated every time City scored in their win over Liverpool.
The striker also performed the iconic Poznan, which sees a jump move back into the game.