The games Erling Haaland could miss through injury | OneFootball

Erling Haaland's first season on English shores had many wondering which UFO had left him behind. However, the past two campaigns have manifested the striker's human touch.

The Nordic machine enjoyed a record-breaking year one on the goalscoring front as Manchester City claimed a historic treble, before retaining his Golden Boot with a more ordinary goal tally last term.

Haaland, amid City's demise, now looks set to relinquish his individual crown to the inevitable Mohamed Salah in 2024/25, having once threatened to monopolise the annual top scorer award for the duration of his stay in Manchester.

Salah leads the way by six goals heading into the run-in, and Haaland's ankle injury sustained during City's FA Cup quarter-final win at Bournemouth has all but confirmed the Liverpool superstar as just the second four-time Golden Boot winner.

Here are the games Haaland is expected to miss down the stretch through injury.

The games Erling Haaland could miss with ankle injury

Haaland was forced off at the Vitality on Sunday / Harry Murphy - Danehouse/GettyImages

After the extent of Haaland's ankle was revealed, Pep Guardiola suggested his striker could be out for as long as seven weeks. However, the manager did say he's hopeful Haaland will return before the end of the season and in plenty of time for the Club World Cup in the summer.

Nevertheless, the Norwegian international is poised to miss a long list of games while sidelined, starting with the Premier League clash against Leicester on Wednesday night. Fifth-place City are currently fighting for a Champions League spot, but a top-five finish will likely be enough to book a place in Europe's premier club competition.

City face none of the so-called 'Big Six' after travelling to Old Trafford for the Manchester derby on Sunday, although they'll be without Haaland for tricky Premier League outings against the in-form Crystal Palace and Everton, who they face in back-to-back weeks later this month.

Guardiola's side then take on Nottingham Forest, who they lost 1-0 to with Haaland in the side before the international break, in the FA Cup semi-finals. Should they bypass Nuno Espirito Santo's Forest at Wembley, Haaland will face a race against time to be fit for the final on 17 May.

In between the semi-finals and potential final, City host Wolves and travel to Southampton in the league. It's likely that he'll miss the rearranged fixture with Aston Villa at the Etihad, too.

When does the 2025 Club World Cup start?

The first 32-team Club World Cup takes place this summer / Brennan Asplen/GettyImages

The early indications suggest that the expanded 32-team Club World Cup is a competition the involved Premier League clubs will be taking seriously this summer.

Guardiola noted that he expects Haaland to be ready for the start of the tournament, which gets underway in the USA on 15 June (BST). City's campaign begins on 18 June against Wydad AC, with their other group stage fixtures, against Al Ain and Juventus, scheduled for 23 June (BST) and 26 June.