Pep Guardiola played down concerns and remained hopeful about the return of Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland from their injuries in the upcoming weeks.
Despite Haaland missing his first Premier League game of the season due to a foot injury sustained earlier, both players were absent during Manchester City’s 2-1 victory over Luton. Guardiola stressed that Haaland hadn’t suffered any bone fractures, although he couldn’t confirm his availability for the following week’s match against Crystal Palace.
Describing the injury as stress on the bone rather than a fracture, Guardiola mentioned, “I don’t anticipate him being ready for Crystal Palace; he wasn’t available for this game. Hopefully, he’ll be fit for the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia. His recovery will depend on how he feels throughout the week.”
Regarding Doku, who hasn’t played since leaving last week’s match against Tottenham due to injury, Guardiola suggested that while it’s a muscular issue, it’s not as severe as Kevin De Bruyne’s injury that impacted his season. However, Guardiola couldn’t specify a return timeline for Doku due to the team’s cautious approach. He stated,
“It’s not a major concern like Kevin’s, but considering his speed, we need to be careful. I can’t pinpoint exactly when he’ll return; it might take a week or two.”