The Norwegian striker returned to training before City’s FA Cup start against Huddersfield, but he is not yet well enough to play competitively. Guardiola has often stated that he will not take any risks with the prolific goal-scorer, and the boss appears to have kept his word, as he is now out for an extended length of time. Furthermore, John Stones is still out with a foot ailment.

Speaking to reporters, Guardiola said: “Erling is out and John is out.”

While sharing more details about Haaland’s ιnjᴜry, Guardiola said: “It’s the ƅоnе. It needs time. With every ιnjᴜry, you can do whatever you want but it’s a question of time. It’s fine but the doctors decided to stop for one week and maybe restart in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully, at the end of this month, he’ll be ready. It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. We need him. Hopefully, he can come back and play the last four or five months without a problem.”

However, he “hopes” that Jack Grealish will be “back today” as he recovers from a viral infеϲtιоn.

After a five-month hiatus, De Bruyne made his competitive debut against Huddersfield in the FA Cup. Although the athlete believes he has some work to do before he can begin, Guardiola believes otherwise.

“What I saw yesterday he looks really good and dynamic,” he said. “The minutes he played were really good, better than the training session before the Huddersfield game where he was a little bit now what he is.

“It’s normal when you come from five months of ιnjᴜry to have highs and lows in training. He is getting better. We have a game, then we will do four or five training sessions in Abu Dhabi and that will help us to be better for the next months.”

City can close the gap at the top of the table to just two points if they Ԁefeat Eddie Howe’s Newcastle at St. James’ Park.