Erling Haaland faces fitness race for Man City's Club World Cup

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Erling Haaland faces a race to be fit for Manchester City’s Club World Cup semi-final… with Pep Guardiola doubtful his star striker will return for next week’s game against Crystal Palace

  • Erling Haaland missed Man City’s trip to Luton with a ‘bone stress injury’ 
  • The Norwegian star had started every Premier League game for City this season
  • United are three points behind City… a league table can LIE. There are chasms between them – It’s All Kicking Off 

Erling Haaland faces a race to prove his fitness for Manchester City’s tilt at the Club World Cup next week.

The Premier League’s top scorer, who obliterated records during an astonishing first season in England, did not travel with the champions for yesterday’s 2-1 win at Luton Town.

Haaland has a foot injury sustained during the midweek defeat by Aston Villa and could hardly walk the day after, according to Pep Guardiola.

The City boss insisted the issue is not a serious problem – but they will monitor the 23-year-old’s progress before jetting off to Saudi Arabia after Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace.

‘It’s stress (on the) bone,’ Guardiola said. ‘Just stress. Please don’t ask if his foot is broken. He was not ready for this game, I don’t think he will be ready for Crystal Palace.

Erling Haaland faces a race to be fit ahead of Man City’s Club World Cup semi-final next week 

Haaland did not travel with the City squad for their 2-1 victory against Luton on Sunday

Pep Guardiola instead opted to play Julian Alvarez further forward in the absence of Haaland

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‘Hopefully he can be ready for Saudi Arabia. Week-by-week will dictate how he feels.’

Star winger Jeremy Doku is also out, having now missed the last two games with a hamstring problem. City will not rush the Belgian back, fearing his style of play may exacerbate the issue.

‘It’s not a big, big issue like Kevin (De Bruyne) was,’ Guardiola added. ‘We have to think about it because of his explosiveness. We have to be careful. Maybe one week or two weeks he will be ready again.’

Despite that, Guardiola said that the Norwegian had suffered stress on a bone in his foot

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