Haaland Injury: haaland injury leaves Guardiola unsure after Leeds win

Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland’s haaland injury left the Manchester City striker out of the squad for the win at Elland Road and that he is unsure when Haaland will return. Guardiola described the issue as a "little injury" and repeatedly declined to give a timeframe for the player’s comeback.

Haaland Injury: Guardiola update

Guardiola admitted Haaland was a surprise absentee from the City team to play at Elland Road and that the forward picked up an issue in training on Thursday. Before the game Guardiola said Haaland had "picked up an issue in training on Thursday" and described it as a "little injury". He also said, "Two days ago in training he had some problems and a little injury. "

Asked how he felt about winning in Leeds without Haaland, Guardiola replied: "I wish he'd come back!" When pressed on when Haaland will be back he said simply: "I don't know. "

Who started at Elland Road

With Haaland absent, Antoine Semenyo replaced him as the central striker in the starting line-up and scored the winning goal just before the break. City’s forward line that day comprised Omar Marmoush, Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, and Guardiola also named Phil Foden, Savino and Jeremy Doku among the attacking options on the bench. Rayan Cherki came into the starting XI for the match at Elland Road, which is in the city of Haaland’s birth.

Fixture run and timings

Haaland's absence comes amid a busy period for City, who face four matches over the next fortnight across three different competitions. City host Nottingham Forest in their next Premier League game on Wednesday night, then visit Newcastle in the FA Cup next Saturday. City then travel to play Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on March 11, followed by another away game at West Ham three days later.

Guardiola highlighted the compressed schedule and said: "We have three days until Nottingham Forest]" and complained about the FA Cup kick-off time at Newcastle being set for 8pm. He said: "thank you so much for letting us play at 8pm instead of 3pm so we have less recover to play Real Madrid, " and added, "So again thank you so much. This is what you have to live [with], but you have to deal with that. "

Guardiola's frustrations and priorities

Beyond the immediate concern over Haaland, Guardiola stressed his priorities and workload for the squad. He called the "main, main priority" securing another season of Champions League football and urged a measured approach: "One game at a time, " he said. "Recover now and start the real season when there are many, many games and everyone's tired. "

League situation and season figures

City’s win at Leeds moved the club to two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Haaland has 22 goals in 27 appearances for City this season. City had travelled to west Yorkshire aiming to cut the gap to Arsenal to two points and did so when Semenyo’s strike just before the break proved the matchwinner. If Arsenal win their next game against Chelsea on Sunday at 4. 30pm they can extend their lead back to five points.

City remain engaged on all four fronts as they prepare to enter March, with Haaland unavailable for the Elland Road fixture because of what Guardiola called a "little injury" and with no clear date set for his return.