Monday brought a development that will certainly have a major impact on the Premier League title race- the injury to Erling Haaland could be substantial. Haaland has a knee problem that might be sideline him for a bit. You can pretty much rule him out for the Wednesday home clash versus Nottingham Forest.
Also, his chances of featuring at Newcastle United, in the FA Cup round of 16, don’t sound good either.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. March 4, 7:30, Etihad Stadium, Manchester, UK
Premier League Position: Man City- 2nd, 5 points league leading Arsenal, but with a game in hand
Nottingham Forest- 17th, clinging to the last safety position by two points.
Man City Team News
Beyond that, it is tough to say, and even manager Pep Guardiola admits that he doesn’t really know.
“I don’t have an answer right now,” Guardiola said after the 1-0 win at Leeds United on Saturday. “He was not ready for today but we have four days before Nottingham Forest and after, three days to the FA Cup at Newcastle at 8 p.m.”
Pep mentioned the kickoff time for the Newcastle clash as a complaint.
If that seemed subtle, it was anything but the subtle in the next comment he made.
“Thank you so much for that time, to go better to Madrid with less recovery, thank you,” Guardiola added, refererencing the Champions league round of 16 showdown with Real Madrid on March 11.
Although to be fair, that could be a match where both sides are without their superstar striker, as Kylian Mbappe, we just learned, has a knee sprain.
Elsewhere with City, Nico O’Reilly was withdrawn after 70 minutes at Elland Road with an ankle injury, that Pep described as “not good…”
So he’s ruled out for midweek, as is Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol and Max Alleyne.
And with Alleyne, we can stop calling his injury “a knock” now, because a knock is only a minor thing that keeps one out of action for a little bit.
He’s been out awhile now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.