Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Braut Haaland is feeling 'much better' and a decision will be made later today to determine whether he can feature against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Norwegian striker has excelled in front of goal following his summer transfer from Borussia Dortmund, scoring 22 goals in just 16 appearances across all competitions, including 17 strikes in only 11 Premier League games.
However, since being withdrawn at half time against his former club Dortmund 10 days ago, Haaland has missed the last two matches against Leicester City and Sevilla due to "ligament damage" in his foot.
City have managed to cope without the 6ft 5in striker, with Kevin De Bruyne making the difference in a 1-0 Premier League win away at Leicester last weekend, before second-half strikes from Rico Lewis, Julian Alvarez and Riyad Mahrez helped the Citizens beat Sevilla 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, City supporters will be eager to see their No.9 return to the starting lineup this weekend, and Guardiola has provided a positive update ahead of their encounter with Fulham at the Etihad Stadium.
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Speaking at a press conference on Friday afternoon, Guardiola said: "[Haaland is] much better, we'll decide today. It's a good step, he starts to train, and we have training this afternoon and we will see."
"We consider himself, his opinion, the doctor opinion, 90 minutes or less minutes, we'll see."
Argentine forward Alvarez has started the last two games in Haaland's absence, and when asked if the 22-year-old could start for a third successive game in a week, Guardiola said: "He's so young, at that age you can play every day."
Guardiola has also confirmed that Manuel Akanji is "okay" after the defender missed Wednesday's win over Sevilla, while Kalvin Phillips and Kyle Walker are "still not fit" as they continue to recover from respective shoulder and groin surgeries.
Phillips, who has only played for 13 minutes across three substitute appearances since signing for City over the summer, has been taking part in partial training sessions with the first-team squad for just over a week.
Meanwhile, Walker has been sidelined since sustaining his injury in the 6-3 derby win over Manchester United and is yet to return to training.
Both England players are considered doubts for the 2022 World Cup, but Guardiola suggested earlier this week that the pair are "likely" to be ready in time for the tournament.
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Indeed, the World Cup in Qatar is less than three weeks away, and while many players who are hoping to represent their country may consider taking their foot off the gas to avoid sustaining an injury, Guardiola insists that his City squad are "committed" for their final three fixtures before club football comes to a halt.
"I want to be honest, seeing like I see our players, how they run, compete, in duels, I'm not concerned at all in these last six to seven days together," the Spaniard added.
"Next Saturday starts World Cup preparation, or holidays, what I saw everyone is committed to what we have to do."
With league leaders Arsenal facing Chelsea on Sunday, City will momentarily climb to the top of the Premier League with a victory over Fulham, who are unbeaten in their last four matches and are flying high in seventh place in the table.
Asked whether he has been surprised by Fulham's start to the campaign, Guardiola said: "Not surprised at all, see what they did in Championship (win the title last season) and transfer market, manager (Marco Silva) is exceptional.
"They have a good process in behind. Under pressure can use long balls to [Aleksandar] Mitrovic, or second balls for them. A top, good team, no surprise. Drew against Liverpool and continued that way."
City, who have won their last 12 meetings with Fulham, have already had plenty of success against newly-promoted teams at the Etihad this term, beating Bournemouth 4-0 and Nottingham Forest 6-0 in August.
Oliver Thomas
