Manchester City fans are trying their best to deal with the hard blow of hearing from coach Pep Guardiola that the club’s Golden Boy, Erling Haaland has sustained an ankle injury and will miss his side’s upcoming game with Everton this month.
Gambling sites like theonlinecasino.co.uk report that they have seen a massive decrease in bets on Manchester City ever since the news about Haaland’s sudden take-off to the side-lines.
A video showing the 24-year-old leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches has been circulating in social media. Commenting on Haaland’s return, Guardiola said, “They told me that the doctors say between five to seven weeks. So, hopefully, by the end of the season and by the Club World Cup he will be ready.” This has come as a sliver of hope to the millions of Man City fans who were looking forward to seeing their favourite striker’s skilled playstyles.
The forward suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth. FA Cup is the club’s last opportunity to win a trophy this season, following a strenuous Premier League Campaign and quick exits from the Champions League and Carabao Cup. The club has been dealing with fitness concerns throughout the campaign, and Haaland’s layoff adds to their long list of sidelined players.
“So with all the injuries we have had this season, I am so sorry for them, and for Erling as well. So (I wish him) a good recovery, as speedy as possible, then come back,” Guardiola added.
A five-week long absence would force Haaland to miss six matches including the FA cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest on 26 April. He would then be looking at his possible return in the Premier League game against Southampton on 10 May. But if his absence stretches on to seven weeks, the probability of his presence at the FA Cup finals is minimal. Haaland will then be able to play only for the final game of the season, which will be conducted on 25 May at Fulham, prior to the Club World Cup, which is expected to be conducted in the months of June and July.
City reported on Monday that Haaland would seek expert treatment from qualified doctors and “will be fit to play a further part in the remainder of this season including this summer’s Fifa Club World Cup.” Guardiola expressed his remorse at the star player’s sudden shift to the side-lines. He said, “Sometimes there are years when these kinds of things happen. It happened all season.” He is now busy changing City’s approach and trying to adapt to the absence of the club’s top goalscorer. “We don’t have another player with his skills or specific qualities, we know that, but we have to adapt,” Guardiola said as he spoke to the club’s official website.
Erling Haaland is considered to be one of the best players in the world, and is known for his speed, positioning, strength, and positioning inside the box. His fame shot up as he broke the record of the most goals scored by the player in a single season, by scoring an impressive number of 36 goals, and that too in his debut Premier League season. But that’s not the only record he has broken, the quickest individual to score two, three, four, and five hat-tricks and the first in league history to score hat-tricks in three consecutive home matches are other achievements the star player is lauded for. He was named the Bundesliga player of the season and also awarded the title of Golden Boy in 2020.
Despite Man City’s confidence that they will land in the top four positions, the statistics show something else. The club currently stands fifth on the table- three points higher than the ninth place Villa and six points behind the third place Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately, their standing at the next season’s European top table is very uncertain.
The club faces Leicester City and Manchester United this week, and a following match with Crystal Palace at the Etihad on April 12th. The winning Premier League champions will then head on to Goodison Park for a match with Everton on Saturday, April 19th. The club must now learn to adjust without Haaland and devise a new approach for their upcoming games.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login