National Team manager reveals why Pep Guardiola has overlooked Manchester City forward recently | OneFootball

Norway National Team manager Stale Solbakken has revealed why Oscar Bobb has barely been in action for Manchester City and Oscar Bobb in recent weeks.

Bobb was integrated to the first-team last season and burst onto the scene with a crucial injury-time winner to help Manchester City secure a 3-2 win away at Newcastle in their run to a fourth straight Premier League title.

The 21-year-old made a strong impression in pre-season but his rise in the first-team ranks was thwarted when he suffered a leg break in the days after Manchester City’s FA Community Shield triumph over Manchester United at Wembley in August 2024.

Bobb returned to training in February and suffered another issues that kept him out of the fold until recently, when he briefly returned to first-team action but the winger sustained a fresh hamstring issue in the days leading to City’s 2-0 Premier League win against Everton in April.

The Norwegian is one of many academy stars currently in Guardiola’s ranks rated very highly by the Catalan manager, who has placed his faith in Bobb and is awaiting the forward to return to full fitness ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup between June and July.

Bobb made his long-awaited return to action when he came on in a 2-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League in April, but the attacker has barely featured since as Manchester City look to build on their strong run of recent form and secure a third-place league finish and win the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

It was reported recently that there were fears that Bobb had picked up another hamstring issue but speaking to Dagbladet this week, Norway National Team manager Stale Solbakken has broken silence on why Bobb has barely kicked a ball for Manchester City in recent weeks.

“He (Bobb) is just in an extremely competitive situation. That’s why he won’t be in the squad,” said Solbakken, as quoted by Sport Witness.

“He (Bobb) is injury-free and training fully. But Pep Guardiola is currently taking out other players.”

When pressed on Bobb’s hamstring issue, Solbakken added: “It’s long gone. It’s just about training as best as possible and getting back into the squad and team.”

Bobb is unlikely to play any significant role for Manchester City in their Premier League and FA Cup run-ins as Guardiola would be wary of the winger picking up further fitness issues as he looks to keep his squad fresh for their Club World Cup commitments starting next month.

It’s set to be a busy summer of transfer dealings at the Etihad Stadium but Bobb is likely to stay on and be an integral part of Guardiola’s squad next term as he looks to prove his fitness and gain match fitness over the summer ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.