Pep Guardiola has expressed concerns regarding Erling Haaland’s fitness ahead of Manchester City’s upcoming season.
The manager revealed that Haaland has been dealing with minor injuries, referred to as “niggles,” which have affected his performance and readiness for the new season.
Guardiola has been cautious with Haaland’s game time during the pre-season, aiming to prevent any serious injury that could sideline the Norwegian striker for an extended period.
Haaland, who joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, is one of the more experienced players on the team’s pre-season tour of the United States.
The tour comes at a time when several of City’s key players, such as Rodri, Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Phil Foden, are resting after their participation in Euro 2024.
Despite this, Haaland has participated in all three of City’s pre-season matches, scoring in friendlies against Celtic and AC Milan.
However, in these matches, Guardiola has opted to substitute Haaland at half-time, most recently during a 2-2 draw against Barcelona.
Guardiola’s decision to manage Haaland’s playing time stems from the striker’s struggles with fitness towards the end of 2023.
Haaland missed several matches during that period, and Guardiola is keen to avoid a repeat of last season’s issues.
With the Community Shield against Manchester United looming on August 10th, Guardiola is wary of pushing Haaland too hard too soon, which could result in a more severe injury.
In a recent interview, Guardiola shared his concerns about Haaland’s condition, saying, “Erling is not comfortable.
We don’t want to take risks. But sooner or later he has to take a step with training and minutes. The season is there, around the corner.
He has niggles, muscular, we don’t want to take a risk and lose him for three weeks or a month. That would be a problem.”
During the match against Barcelona, Haaland was taken off at half-time, a move Guardiola later explained was due to the striker not feeling well.
Despite Haaland’s absence in the second half, City managed to hold Barcelona to a 2-2 draw before losing 4-1 in a penalty shootout.
The goals for City were scored by Nico O’Reilly and Jack Grealish, while Pau Victor and Pablo Torre netted for Barcelona.
Guardiola acknowledged the challenges of managing the team during the pre-season, especially with a significant portion of the squad still on holiday.
He emphasized the need for available players to step up, mentioning the impressive performance of young player Oscar Bobb as a positive takeaway from the match against Barcelona.
Guardiola stated, “Sixty-seventy per cent of the squad are on holiday.
That’s why we need the players. At the same time, we have alternatives, Oscar [Bobb] makes an incredible job again. We’re pleased with many things.”
Looking ahead, Manchester City will face Premier League rivals Chelsea in their final pre-season friendly on Saturday night.
This match will serve as the last opportunity for Guardiola to assess his squad before the season officially begins with the Community Shield.
The manager’s primary focus remains on ensuring that Haaland, and the rest of the team, are in the best possible condition for the upcoming campaign.
Guardiola’s cautious approach with Haaland underscores the importance of the striker to City’s ambitions this season.
With several key players still returning to full fitness, the manager is likely to continue carefully managing Haaland’s playing time, balancing the need to build his match fitness with the risk of aggravating his current injuries.
As the new season approaches, Guardiola’s handling of Haaland’s situation will be crucial in determining Manchester City’s early success.
