Pep Guardiola has dismissed fears top scorer Erling Haaland has suffered an injury scare ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.
The prolific Norwegian striker was filmed clutching his shin after going down in apparent pain during a training session open to members of the media on Monday.
Yet manager Guardiola confirmed the 24-year-old is fit and well after the squad arrived in the Portuguese capital later that evening.
“He’s fine,” said Guardiola, before adding with a touch of sarcasm. “We have to occupy the news for 24 hours, we have to make the news as much as possible. That’s the reason why.”
That news will undoubtedly be of some relief for City who have been grappling with a long injury list in recent weeks.
John Stones, Jack Grealish and Ruben Dias have not been included in the travelling party to face Sporting, while Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Manuel Akanji, Nathan Ake and Jeremy Doku are among those not fully fit.
Guardiola said: “Manu and Nathan are still with problems. Kevin is getting better, he’s having sessions with less and less pain, so we feel that he feels more comfortable. That is good news for all of us.
“Kyle as well has had problems with his knee since he was with the national team. Doku has had a little problem with muscular issues, Savinho is getting better with his ankle. The rest are fine.”
They are hoping to get back to winning ways after defeats in their last two outings – in the Carabao Cup at Tottenham last week and at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
“I know our standards,” said Guardiola. “We have to come back to winning games, of course, but we are early in November and many things are going to happen.
“Maybe we will lose against Brighton and Tottenham, but we lost one game and we are only two points behind a top-class team in Liverpool.
“I know people expect us to win 38 games 5-0 and win the treble every season because this is our standards, but this will not happen.
“Bournemouth deserved to win by far. They were better on the day. That doesn’t mean we are bad, we are not going to fight for the titles.
“When you lose sometimes, the opponents can be better. Tomorrow we have to improve.”
Guardiola will come up against the next Manchester United manager in Ruben Amorim on Tuesday, with the Portuguese taking over at Old Trafford later this month.
City won 5-0 when the sides met at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in 2022, but Guardiola is not expecting the same outcome this time.
He said: “It’s a different game, it’s a different statement.”
