The 2023/24 Premier League season was less than 200 seconds old when Erling Haaland opened his scoring account against Burnley last August with his first shot of the campaign.
Haaland scored City’s second goal with his ninth touch of the match. “Deja vu,” Pep Guardiola smiled.
However, City have been forced into the unfamiliar position of consistently lining up without Haaland since the division’s top scorer suffered a foot fracture at the start of December.
Ahead of Burnley’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, here’s the latest availability update on Haaland.
Haaland has missed City’s last ten matches across all competitions. The burly Norwegian only sat out three games through injury during the entirety of his debut campaign.
The exact diagnosis of Haaland’s foot problem has led to wildly contrasting recovery trajectories. Initially, Guardiola described Haaland’s ailment as a “bone stress reaction” suffered during City’s 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on 6 December and claimed that he could be back in time for the Club World Cup later that month.
Haaland travelled with his clubmates to Saudi Arabia but didn’t make the bench for either of City’s matches despite his trip to see a miracle-working specialist in Spain ahead of the competition. The treble winners didn’t miss their top scorer, rattling off seven goals without reply against Urawa Red Diamonds and Fluminense to claim their fifth trophy of the calendar year.
Guardiola revealed in mid-January that Haaland had endured a setback in his recovery, needing a break from any activity before resuming his rehabilitation in Abu Dhabi. The 22-year-old joined up with his teammates during their winter break training camp in the Gulf state but still sat out the FA Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur on Friday.
On the day before Burnley’s visit, Guardiola revealed that Haaland would be available but didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“Apparently he will be selected,” the nonplussed Catalan announced. “The first time he’s back.”
“When we have all the squad, we are stronger, definitely,” Guardiola acknowledged. “Erling is an important player for us, definitely. Has been two months out, a long time, but he feels good. We have training this afternoon but apparently tomorrow he will be with all of us.”
Kevin De Bruyne has been gradually eased back from an even lengthier layoff than Haaland, limping off just 23 minutes into the season opener against Burnley in August. The Belgian playmaker has featured in City’s last three matches but has not yet been trusted to start a game.
While Haaland has been recovering from a bone injury compared to De Bruyne’s muscular problem, it’s unlikely that Guardiola will risk his star striker from the start on Wednesday.
Yet, as Burnley found out to their cost five months ago, Haaland doesn’t need many minutes or touches to make a decisive impact.
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