Will Erling Haaland miss Real Madrid clash after Manchester City training injury scare? | OneFootball

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has shared a social media post that has raised doubt over his availability against Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

The 25-year-old was rested at the weekend as a goal from Savinho and brace from Omar Marmoush helped Pep Guardiola and co come from behind and secure a 3-1 win over Newcastle United to progress to the FA Cup quarter-final.

City remain in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple in the business stages of the campaign as they enter a monumental run of fixtures in the next fortnight – including two legs of a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie against Real Madrid and the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal.

Guardiola made 10 changes to his starting XI at St. James’ Park from Manchester City’s recent 2-2 Premier League draw with Nottingham Forest, keeping one eye on the upcoming trip to the Spanish capital, where the Blues have already won in the UEFA Champions League group-stage this season.

Is Erling Haaland fit to face Real Madrid this week?

Haaland did not make the trip to Newcastle as Guardiola and his coaching staff looked to rest their number nine ahead of Real Madrid, though that did not stop Manchester City from returning to winning ways after a gut-wrenching draw to Forest.

The Norway international was joined by Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Rodri amongst those who were left out as Guardiola handed a timely chance to impress to those from his second-team to keep morale high in the camp.

However, Haaland has raised concerns over his fitness after a Snapchat post from the striker revealed he had been at the receiving end of a gruelling challenge from Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who has recently returned to full first-team training and could be back in action himself sometime soon.

Haaland’s post was captioned, “Grazie @mateokovacic8,” in a sarcastically toned jibe aimed at Kovacic as Manchester City prepare for the opening leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.

Could Erling Haaland be rested at the Santiago Bernabeu?

The full extent of the damage done by Kovacic on Haaland remains to be seen and whether the issue is serious enough to keep the Manchester City forward on the sidelines in the Spanish capital.

Guardiola is expected to issue a fitness update on Haaland and the wider Manchester City squad when he speaks to the press in Madrid on Tuesday, with the Catalan also likely to be probed on his two-game touchline ban after he lost his temper in the dugout at St. James’ Park on Saturday night.

Nico O’Reilly was welcomed back into the lineup against Newcastle after missing last week’s draw against Forest – and Guardiola will be keen to maintain his preferred midfield trio of O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva and Rodri against Real Madrid.

However, should Guardiola decide against risking Haaland for the Round of 16 first leg, Manchester City retain plenty of firepower in attack to cause the European heavyweights some serious problems in defence.

Who could replace Erling Haaland in attack against Real Madrid?

Marmoush has, in particular, given Guardiola a major selection headache after effectively winning City the fifth round tie against Newcastle with a fine pair of goals in the second-half at St. James’ Park.

With Antoine Semenyo also a near guarantee to start, Haaland and City’s January signing could be partnered by one of Marmoush, Savinho, Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki or Phil Foden in attack against Alvaro Arbeloa’s men this week.

Savinho also drew strong praise from Guardiola and John Stones, Manchester City captain against Newcastle United, for levelling proceedings and causing Lewis Hall all sorts of problems on the wing in a noteworthy performance that could be a turning point in what has been an injury-ravaged season for the Brazil international.