Manchester City are keen to get Erling Haaland back to full fitness.
The Norwegian striker has been out of action since the end of March having picked up an ankle injury in Man City’s win over Bournemouth during their FA Cup quarter-final encounter, which has coincided with the best run of form Pep Guardiola’s team has shown all season.
The Spanish coach stated on Thursday that he expects Haaland to be fit for the FA Cup final on May 17 after the 24-year-old returned to full training this week and next weekend’s trip to Southampton could see the Norway international get some minutes into his legs before the Wembley showpiece.
Haaland was named on the bench for Man City’s match with Wolves on Friday night and pundit Tim Sherwood hinted that the striker’s return might not be a good thing for City.
Man City have been ‘magnificent’ without Erling Haaland
Man City were 1-0 winners over Wolves on Friday night, courtesy of a Kevin De Bruyne goal, and the three points will go a long way in helping the Manchester club secure Champions League football for next season as the result leaves Guardiola’s men in third before any of their rivals play over the weekend.
The victory also means Man City are undefeated in nine matches, while they have won six out of their last seven without Haaland.
Haaland was named on the bench for the Wolves clash and speaking about the Norwegian superstar’s return to the matchday squad, Sherwood suggested on Friday that he could cause problems for Guardiola.
“The results speak for themselves. They’ve done magnificent without Erling,” Sherwood said via the Premier League. “They’ve been poor all season, really. Their results dropped off.
“Pep will get him back in the side sooner rather than later, but when he’s missing, they press a lot better and higher up the field. Guardiola always finds a solution and he’s found one without his star man Erling Haaland. But I’m sure he’ll play a big part.”
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Pep Guardiola explains why Erling Haaland didn’t play vs Wolves
Follwing the win over Wolves, Guardiola was asked about Haaland’s fitness and the Man City boss stated that he thought about bringing the striker on to get some minutes, but opted for other stars instead to create more energy within his team.
“Yeah, I thought about it (bringing Haaland on). I decided to go for energy,” Guardiola told the press after the win.
“I was thinking, but he has had two training sessions with us, and the moment was a little bit, you know, in that moment I decided for the other type of players.”
Southampton now looks like the game in which Haaland will make his return to action and this is great news for the Manchester club as it will allow the 24-year-old to regain some sharpness ahead of the FA Cup final a week later.
