Pep Guardiola reveals Erling Haaland return timeline | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Haaland is expected to miss between "five and seven weeks" after sustaining an ankle injury against Bournemouth at the weekend.

The Norwegian missed a penalty and scored before being withdrawn through injury during Manchester City's 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory on Sunday afternoon. Having been substituted on the hour mark, Haaland was seen wearing a protective boot as he left the Vitality Stadium on crutches.

The 24-year-old, who has scored 30 times in 40 appearances this season, left City supporters fearing the worst and the club soon confirmed that their leading number nine would miss the majority of the remainder of the 2024/25 season. Guardiola has since provided a further update on Haaland's recovery timeline.

"The doctors told me between five and seven weeks [out]," admitted the Spaniard prior to Wednesday's clash with Leicester City. "So, hopefully for the end of season and FIFA Club World Cup he will be ready."

There remains hope that Haaland could be available for the FA Cup final on 17 May should City reach the showpiece event, while he could return for the final few matches of the Premier League season providing he makes a speedy recovery.

Pep Guardiola relies on Erling Haaland's goals / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages

The Cityzens will desperately miss Haaland's frequent strikes as they chase FA Cup glory and a top four Premier League finish during the rest of the season, with Omar Marmoush expected to start in the number nine role for the foreseeable future.

"We will find a solution from the players that we have," added Guardiola when discussing Haaland's injury. "They all have different skills and qualities. We will have another one [striker].

"We don't have another player with his skills or his specific qualities. We know that. But we have to adapt. Since many years we play for different ways up front. It depends on the quality of the players. We are going to try to find a solution."

Injuries have been a theme of City's underwhelming season, with Rodri's long-term absence attributed to their downturn in form. But the likes of John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Ederson have regularly missed games this term through fitness issues, too.

"Sometimes there are years when these kinds of things happen," sighed Guardiola. "It happened all season. I would say that it could have been different if it was the end of the season.

"So with all the injuries we have had this season, I'm so sorry for them and for Erling as well. So [I wish him] a good recovery, as speedy as possible, then come back"