Manchester City striker Erling Haaland could be in with a shout of returning to action against struggling Nottingham Forest this weekend.
Pep Guardiola was without his top scorer for Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea and their four-goal victory over Brighton and Hove Albion in a bid to aid his recovery from a muscle injury.
Haaland has notched 20 Premier League goals this season, putting him joint-top of the division’s goalscoring chart alongside Chelsea’s Cole Palmer – who could make a return of his own this weekend.
Pep Guardiola cryptic on Erling Haaland return chances
Guardiola was not exactly transparent on Haaland’s chances of making a comeback this weekend, cryptically telling the media: "I prefer to have Erling at my disposal than to [be without him]. I spoke with him, and he says he feels better, I don't know.”
The Norwegian’s last involvement for City came in their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid, with Haaland going off before extra time began.
Guardiola revealed after his side’s penalty shootout defeat that Haaland had asked to be withdrawn and that he had been playing through the issue that has kept him out of the two games since.
Haaland started this season in his usual sensational form but his rate of fire has slowed dow somewhat since he returned from a month-long lay-off with a foot injury in January.
Nonetheless, he has managed six goals in his past ten league starts, as well as scoring five times against Luton in the FA Cup.
City take on relegation-battling Nottingham Forest on Sunday in an encounter with implications at both ends of the table. City are one point behind league leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, while Forest are just one point outside the relegation zone.
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