Manchester City dealt blow as star man ruled out of Club World Cup with injury - Reports
Manchester City have been dealt an injury blow as they will be without striker Erling Haaland for the entirety of the FIFA Club World Cup. The European champions will miss their main attacking threat as he continues to nurse a foot injury that has kept him out for weeks.
Erling Haaland has been out of action for around two weeks due to a foot injury, missing games in the Premier League against Luton Town and Crystal Palace. The 23-year-old also missed their UEFA Champions League final group match against Crvena Zvezda.
Manchester City named Erling Haaland on their squad for their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup appearance. But as per Daily Mail, the striker has failed to recover from his injury. The club have now accepted that the Norway international will not return to full fitness before the end of the competition.
The Cityzens will miss their top goalscorer, who has scored 14 goals in 15 Premier League appearances and has five in five in the UEFA Champions League this season. Pep Guardiola will look to turn his attention to other players to fill the vacuum created by his absence, including young forward Micah Hamilton.
Manchester City won't have a full-strength squad for the competition in Riyadh, as Haaland is not the only big name on the injury list. Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is in the final stages of his recovery from hamstring surgery but will not play in the competition. Jeremy Doku will also miss the tournament.
Guardiola's side were impeccable as they won the treble last season, but have looked fallible this season. They are fourth in the Premier League, and have a Round of 16 meeting with FC Copenhagen to look forward to in the Champions League.
Manchester City keen to become latest European World champions
The FIFA Club World Cup is held annually for champions from the world's continental competition. Most times, the winners of the UEFA Champions League end up winning the tournament quite easily, but there have been outliers.
Chelsea were the last European side to fail in their bid to win the Club World Cup when they lost to South American champions Corinthians in the final in 2012. Since then, every edition of the tournament has been won by the team that emerged as European champions.
Manchester City will look to claim a first-ever title, starting with their semifinal meeting with Urawa Reds on Tuesday, December 19. A win for them in the match will see them face Brazilian outfit Fluminense in the final on Friday for the trophy in Saudi Arabia.