Concerning Erling Haaland fitness update for Liverpool clash provided by Pep Guardiola during press conference | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been unable to confirm or deny whether Erling Haaland will be available for the weekend’s contest against Liverpool.

The Norwegian striker was left out entirely of the club’s UEFA Champions League last-16 play-off second-leg clash with Real Madrid on Wednesday night despite travelling with the squad to the Spanish capital.

Haaland appeared to have trained as normal alongside his City teammates at the City Football Academy on Tuesday morning, giving staff plenty of hope that he had avoided any sort of injury during the final moments of the 4-0 win over Newcastle United last Saturday.

The Norway star limped out of the contest with a knee problem sustained during an assist for James McAtee’s fourth goal of the game, and despite originally continuing, dropped to the floor unchallenged requiring assistance.

Pep Guardiola revealed after the 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in midweek that Erling Haaland had spoken to medical staff on the morning of the game indicating that he was suffering from discomfort, particularly when walking on stairs.

Now, speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, Guardiola clarified that there was no further update on the fitness of Erling Haaland before the weekend.

“I don’t know yet. Tomorrow we’ll know it, I don’t know yet,” Guardiola told reporters from the City Football Academy on Friday afternoon.

“Yeah, maybe (I’m hopeful), but I don’t know because we don’t train today, until tomorrow he will test,” he continued.

John Stones is another injury concern for Manchester City to handle over the course of the coming days, weeks, and potentially months, after the central defender limped out of the action against Real Madrid on Wednesday night with a quadriceps problem.

Pep Guardiola told reporters on Friday afternoon that a decision must now be made on whether the England international requires surgery on the matter, in a similar fate to Manuel Akanji – who went under the knife last weekend.

The defensive pairing join Oscar Bobb and Rodri as confirmed absentees on the sidelines for this weekend, with the Norwegian forward currently recovering from a minor setback sustained in training at the start of this month.