Revealed: Erling Haaland returns to Manchester City training following foot injury | OneFootball

Manchester City have been handed a significant injury update by Erling Haaland after the Norwegian striker withdrew from FIFA Club World Cup duties this week.

Alongside Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne, the 23-year-old striker was withdrawn from Manchester City’s 23-man squad ahead of the Club World Cup semi-final clash with Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday evening.

As per competition rules, Manchester City will now have to embark on their showdown with Brazilian giants Fluminense without Haaland, irrespective of his fitness due to their squad list having to remain the same for both the semi-final and final of the competition.

City will however be boosted by the latest surrounding Erling Haaland, after official club media channels revealed that the Norway international forward had returned to on-field training on Wednesday, photographed with a ball at his feet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

As per the French account of Manchester City, Erling Haaland returned to training on Wednesday, after Pep Guardiola had revealed after the 0-3 victory over Urawa Reds that his mainstay striker had not yet trained with the first-team due to a foot problem.

Speaking earlier this month, Guardiola told sections of the media that Erling Haaland ‘could not walk properly’ as a result of a stress in his foot, keeping him out of subsequent Manchester City matches.

“The day after (Aston) Villa, he could almost not walk properly,” Guardiola said on December 10. “Yesterday I spoke to him, (he was) saying, ‘I feel much better, I can walk, I have no pain’. That’s why we have to see how he is day by day.”

With Erling Haaland returning to training this week, Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City coaching staff will likely become optimistic over the player’s availability for their next Premier League outing, as they travel to face Everton away from home after Boxing Day.