Pep Guardiola did little to ease the injury concerns surrounding Erling Haaland, simply stating that he hopes his superstar striker is “fine” for Manchester City’s upcoming matches.
Travelling Man City supporters held their breath when Haaland clattered into the post late in the Cityzens 1–0 defeat to Aston Villa. The Norway international thought he momentarily found his side’s equalizer in the 90th minute, but the goal was wiped away for offside after a VAR review.
Haaland remained on the ground in visible pain after colliding with the woodwork, but he finished out the game without needing to be replaced as the final minutes ticked by at Villa Park.
After the match, Guardiola provided the following brief update on Haaland’s injury scare: “Hopefully he is fine.”
The good news for Man City is that their next game comes against Swansea City in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Guardiola should not need Haaland to make an appearance against the Championship side, giving the No. 9 a few extra days of recovery.
The Spanish boss will hope to have Haaland, who already has 24 goals to his name for both club and country this season, back at full strength by the time second-place Bournemouth make the trip to the Etihad on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Guardiola: Man City’s Job Is ‘Not to Watch the Title’
After Man City’s defeat, Guardiola also weighed in on the Premier League title race. Dropping points against Aston Villa puts the Cityzens in fifth place, trailing league-leaders Arsenal by six points.
With so much time left in the season, though, Guardiola is keeping the focus solely on bettering his team at the minute.
“We try to close [the gap],” Guardiola said. “Arsenal have been solid for many years. The concern is how we improve better to be close.
“From my experience, it is so long. There are many teams there—Bournemouth are doing really well—and we try to do our game. Our job is not to watch the title. If [Arsenal] win all their games and win the Premier League, congratulate them. But I feel that the team is alive, it’s good,” Guardiola finished.
Man City’s loss to Aston Villa snapped a nine-game unbeaten streak by the 10-time English champions. With matches against Bournemouth and Liverpool coming in the next two weeks, Guardiola will be eager to get his team back to winning ways and in a better position ahead of the November international window.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pep Guardiola Offers Guarded Four-Word Erling Haaland Injury Update .