Erling Haaland to be sidelined for five to seven weeks - Man City boss Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has revealed the expected length of time Manchester City forward Erling Haaland will spend on the sidelines following an ankle injury sustained against Bournemouth on Sunday.

Haaland was forced off after scoring the equaliser, having landed awkwardly.

He was replaced by Omar Marmoush, who went on to score the winner, securing a 2-1 victory for City and sending them to a seventh consecutive FA Cup final.

On Monday, Manchester City released a statement confirming that Haaland will meet with specialists to assess the full extent of his injury.

The club indicated that he is likely to miss a significant portion of the remainder of the season.

In a press conference ahead of City’s upcoming match against Leicester City on Wednesday evening, Guardiola provided further details, confirming that Haaland’s recovery timeline is still being evaluated.

“The doctors told me between five and seven weeks. So hopefully for the end of season and FIFA Club World Cup he will be ready,” he said.

“Sometimes there are years where these kinds of things happen. It’s happened all season. I would say it could have been different if it was at the end of season.”

It remains to be seen how Manchester City will cope with the devastating loss of Erling Haaland as they approach the crucial stages of the season, with their sights set on a top-four finish in the league and a successful FA Cup run.

Pep Guardiola emphasised that the responsibility now falls on the rest of the squad to adapt and find the best way to function without Haaland’s presence in the box.

“We need players with other qualities and we have to bring more players close to the box,” Guardiola added.

“Erling’s numbers again have been exceptional and is an incredible threat for many things with long balls and his sense of goal but we have to adjust.”