Pep Guardiola reveals extent of Erling Haaland injury sustained in Fulham win | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has admitted Erling Haaland was taken off at half-time in Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Fulham as a precautionary measure.

The Blues won for the third game running as goals from Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly and Erling Haaland ensured Manchester City keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal, who face Brentford on Thursday night.

City are three points adrift of Arsenal and are turning over a new leaf after a poor start to 2026 that saw them throw leads away for fun in January, coming from behind to seal a thrilling, late win over Liverpool at Anfield last week before running out 3-0 winners over Fulham.

Haaland scored for the second league game running after latching onto a Phil Foden pass and finishing expertly past Bernd Leno after 39 minutes to ensure Manchester City entered the interval with a three goal lead.

Eyebrows were raised when Haaland was taken off at half-time and replaced by Omar Marmoush, who has impressed in front of goal since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

There was some suggestion in the English press that the 25-year-old was moving awkwardly and struggling before his goal and Guardiola confirmed in a post-match interview with TNT Sports that Haaland was withdrawn due to ‘niggles’.

“I didn’t speak with the doctors. I don’t know exactly what he has,” Guardiola said subsequently in a press conference. “It’s just a disturbance, fatigue, or something – I don’t know.

“He (Haaland) said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable,’ at 3-0, with a lot of games he’s had, having Omar (Marmoush), so out! Common sense, right?”

It remains to be seen whether the concern will keep Haaland out of contention for Saturday’s FA Cup fourth-round meeting with Salford City, though it is unlikely the forward would have been risked for the cup tie in the first place given fixture congestion.

Guardiola will be delighted to see the ship turning at the Etihad Stadium, with Semenyo also maintaining his excellent start to life at Manchester City by opening the scoring against Fulham on Wednesday night – his fifth goal in sky blue since joining Bournemouth for £64 million.

The jury remains out on whether Manchester City can sustain their charge for silverware on several fronts as the season progresses, with the Blues facing Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on March 22.

Guardiola will want to rotate as best as possible in the run-in to ensure his players stay fresh, fit and firing, having just come out of a dire personnel crisis in defence after Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias suffered injuries in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4.