Manchester City faced a big setback before their last match against Luton Town. Their star striker Erling Haaland, got sidelined due to a stress injury in his ankle bone. The extent of his injury had remained a mystery until recently, when Pep Guardiola, the manager of Man City, provided an update on his condition and revealed a date for Haaland’s expected return. But this may be some bad news for another player with an equal number of goals this year.
The City centre-forward’s injury troubles began back in November during the International break, when he suffered a foot injury. Despite playing for City after the injury, it seems that the pain persisted. The recent injury update even led to rumors that he might miss several matches. Fortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
When are fans going to see this Viking back in action?
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Pep Guardiola recently sat down in the press conference before the UEFA Champions League match against Crvena Zvezda. Here the German manager addressed the topic of Haaland’s injury. The Man City manager said, “He’ll be back, I think, on Thursday. We’ll see how he feels.”
Pep Guardiola: [On Haaland injury update] “He’ll be back I think on Thursday. We’ll see how he feels”
— Man City International 🌐 (@ManCityINT) December 12, 2023
Although Guardiola didn’t explicitly confirm the return date, it is evident that he expects his star player to be back in action by the 14th. Unfortunately, this means he might not be able to participate in the Champions League match against Crvena Zvezda.
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Nonetheless, it is certainly good news for the team and fans that the 23-year-old’s injury isn’t as severe. However, this early return of Erling Haaland does pose a challenge for Cristiano Ronaldo in his quest to become the leading goalscorer of 2023.
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Haaland’s early return is bad news for Cristiano Ronaldo
Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland have recorded 50 goals in 2023. This achievement has led them to be tied as the leading goalscorers of the year. As we approach the end of the year, Al Nassr only has 3 matches remaining in their schedule. Conversely, Manchester City, after tomorrow’s UCL game, has 4-5 games left, depending on their performance in the FIFA Club World Cup.
This means the Norwegian striker will have more chances to overtake the Portuguese legend and end the year as the top goalscorer. This presents a significant challenge for Cristiano Ronaldo as he strives to attain a milestone that he hasn’t accomplished in eight years.
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What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.
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