Erling Haaland: Man City manager Pep Guardiola refuses to rule striker out of Premier League match vs Liverpool
Erling Haaland missed the international break with Norway and sat out Thursday's Manchester City open training session with a groin injury; Phil Foden is expected to be sidelined for two to three weeks after having his appendix removed
Guardiola on Haaland
Pep Guardiola provides Erling Haaland fitness update as he recovers from a groin injury ahead of Saturday's game against Liverpool
Pep Guardiola has refused to rule Erling Haaland out of Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool, saying the striker will be assessed after his final training session on Friday afternoon.
Haaland, the team's top scorer with 28 goals in 26 games, has been ruled out of Norway's international matches over the past two weeks with a groin injury and missed training on Thursday.
However, Guardiola still gave his star striker the opportunity to play at the Etihad but did not think his side would have difficulty scoring if Haaland missed.
"We'll see this [Friday] afternoon, the last training session is at 4pm," said Guardiola.
“We will see today and in the end, the doctors and especially the players will decide how he feels. I talked to him and he feels good. We'll see what happens.
"Life is full of risks at these stages. You have to get him and we've scored a lot of goals this season, he's scored some incredible goals.
“In the past, we always scored a lot of goals. Because we were there, and I have a feeling with Roberto Mancini and (Manuel) Pellegrini, it's a team that has scored a lot of goals this season with different players, different attack, different style of play. each other, they scored a lot of goals. goal. That's what I'm trying to do before the end of the season."
Erling Haaland gesture during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Everton at Etihad Stadium
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Haaland can still play for Man City against Liverpool after suffering a groin injury
Guardiola added that he would not change his tactics to account for the possibility of Haaland missing the tough home game against Liverpool.
When asked if his plans could change, the Man City boss replied:
“No, because football is the quality of the players.
"When you're playing with the typical players you need, tactics are every player's skill. Haaland has his skills, Julian [Alvarez] has his own skills, he gives us stuff. this and that, if you play with the wrong number 9. , you have another skill. It depends.
"We see most of the players are back from the international break yesterday, we can't do much, today a little bit. We will see the latest results today and We will decide."
Phil Foden will miss Saturday's Premier League game after having his appendix removed, with Guardiola adding that it will take "two or three weeks" before returning to training.
Foden is City's only known absence, giving the coach a nearly suitable squad at his disposal.
“We have incredible physical trainers, doctors, physiotherapists, sports scientists who control the players perfectly,” he said. "All season, we mostly have the whole team ready. But you can also have a period with a lot of injuries that you don't know about.
"In general, I'm happy to finish the season with most of the players. With a game count of only 11/12 players like this it's not possible, everyone has to come in and we'll see what. will happen. "
City will close the gap to Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table by five points if they beat Liverpool, when the Gunners host Leeds later on Saturday.
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