Haaland Injury: Guardiola unsure when striker will return after Leeds win

Pep Guardiola says he does not know when Erling Haaland will return after the Manchester City striker missed the win at Leeds with what the manager described as a "little injury". The haaland injury was picked up in training on Thursday and left him absent from the squad on Saturday.

Haaland left out at Elland Road

Erling Haaland was a surprise absentee from Manchester City's squad for the trip to Elland Road, the ground "in the city of his birth. " Guardiola said Haaland had "picked up an issue in training on Thursday" and had "some problems" in training two days before the match. The manager described it as "a little injury" and said: "A little injury. It's not a big issue but not ready for today. "

Who started in Haaland's place

Antoine Semenyo replaced Haaland as the central striker in the starting line-up and scored the winning goal, with his strike coming just before the break. Rayan Cherki came into the starting XI, and Omar Marmoush, Cherki and Antoine Semenyo made up City's forward line. Phil Foden, Savino and Jeremy Doku were listed among the attacking options on the bench.

Guardiola on the injury and return

Asked how he felt about winning in Leeds without Haaland, Guardiola replied: "I wish he'd come back!" When pressed on timings, he was blunt: "I don't know. " He reiterated that the player had suffered issues in training: "Two days ago in training he had some problems and a little injury. " Guardiola added: "We are without one top striker and we are playing with another top striker. "

Fixture congestion and the 8pm kick-off

Haaland's absence comes amid a busy spell for Guardiola's side, with four matches in three different competitions over the next fortnight. City are scheduled to host Nottingham Forest in their next Premier League game on Wednesday night, then visit Newcastle in the FA Cup next Saturday for the fifth-round tie. The fixture list then sees City play the first leg of the Champions League last 16 against Real Madrid on March 11, another away game, before another away match at West Ham three days later.

Guardiola criticises scheduling

Guardiola made his frustration about the schedule plain after the Leeds match, pointing to the FA Cup tie at Newcastle being given an 8pm kick-off rather than 3pm and saying that change gives his team "less recover to play Real Madrid. " He said: "We have three days until Nottingham Forest. " He continued: "And then after in the FA Cup, thank you so much for letting us play at 8pm instead of 3pm so we have less recover to play Real Madrid. So again thank you so much. This is what you have to live [with], but you have to deal with that. "

Season context and priorities

City's victory at Leeds moved them two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Guardiola noted the narrow gap and the title implications, adding that despite competing on multiple fronts the club's "main, main priority" is securing another season of Champions League football. He stressed the need for careful management: "One game at a time. Recover now and start the real season when there are many, many games and everyone's tired. "

Haaland has 22 goals in 27 appearances for City this season. City travelled to west Yorkshire aiming to cut the gap to league leaders Arsenal to two points and achieved that aim with Semenyo's matchwinning strike.

Guardiola's comments left the timeline for Haaland's return uncertain: he called the problem a "little injury" but offered no date for when the striker would be available again, saying plainly, "I don't know. "