Haaland Injury leaves Guardiola unsure as Semenyo wins it at Elland Road

Pep Guardiola said he does not know when Erling Haaland will return after the haaland injury that kept the striker out of Manchester City's win at Elland Road. The absence forced a reshuffle for Saturday's trip to Leeds and matters as City prepare for four matches across three competitions in the next fortnight.

Haaland injury details and Guardiola's immediate verdict

Guardiola said Haaland picked up an issue in training on Thursday and described it as a "little injury. " Before the game the manager warned: "Two days ago in training he had some problems and a little injury. " After the win he admitted he could not give a timeline, saying "I don't know" when asked when Haaland would be back fit and adding "I wish he'd come back!"

Elland Road changes: Semenyo, Cherki and Marmoush in the forward line

Haaland was a surprise absentee from Manchester City's squad at Elland Road, in the city of his birth. Antoine Semenyo replaced him as the central striker in the starting line-up and his strike just before the break proved to be the matchwinner. Rayan Cherki came into the starting XI, with Omar Marmoush, Cherki and Antoine Semenyo making up City's forward line.

Antoine Semenyo was used as City's focal point in Haaland's absence, and the bench included Phil Foden, Savino and Jeremy Doku as attacking options. Play at Elland Road was halted after 13 minutes for players to break their fast.

Fixture congestion: four matches in three competitions

Haaland's absence comes at a busy moment for Guardiola's side, who face four matches across three different competitions over the next fortnight. City host Nottingham Forest in their next Premier League game on Wednesday night. They will then travel to Newcastle for the FA Cup fifth round next Saturday, with Guardiola making clear his frustration that the Newcastle tie was scheduled for an 8pm kick-off rather than 3pm.

City are due to play Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on March 11, and then have another away game at West Ham three days later. Guardiola complained about the scheduling, saying: "We have three days until Nottingham Forest]" and "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. " He added: "So again thank you so much. This is what you have to live [with], but you have to deal with that. "

Squad context, goals and the title race

Haaland has 22 goals in 27 appearances for City this season, but he missed out at Elland Road. City travelled to west Yorkshire aiming to cut the gap to league leaders Arsenal to two points and did just that with the win at Leeds. The victory took the club two points behind Arsenal, while Mikel Arteta's Gunners can extend the lead back to five points if they beat Chelsea on Sunday at 4. 30pm ET.

Guardiola stressed the team's focus after the match, saying: "One game at a time. Recover now and start the real season when there are many, many games and everyone's tired. " Earlier he had also framed the absence practically: "A little injury. It's not a big issue but not ready for today. We are without one top striker and we are playing with another top striker. "

Immediate impact and what's clear now

For now, Manchester City managed to secure three points without Haaland, but the timeline for his return remains unclear in the provided context. The reshuffled attack, led by Semenyo with Cherki and Marmoush, delivered the result, while Guardiola's complaints about the 8pm FA Cup kick-off underline concerns about recovery time ahead of the Real Madrid tie on March 11 and the subsequent trip three days later.