Erling Haaland Injury: Progress, Potential Return Date for Man City Superstar

Haaland has been sidelined with an issue which Pep Guardiola has struggled to diagnose.

Erling Haaland has been practically ever-present for Man City this season. | James Gill-Danehouse/Getty Images

Erling Haaland is a player held to different standards.

The burly Norwegian endured a relatively slow start to 2026 in front of goal which inspired widespread criticism. This supposedly dire run of form left Haaland with just the 41 goals from his first 41 games for club and country this season. He really is slipping.

Beyond an unrelenting scoring burden, Haaland is also perennially expected to feature in every game for Manchester City. Even when the serial Premier League champions were drawn at home to third-tier Exeter City in the FA Cup third round, Pep Guardiola started Haaland. And so, the 25-year-old’s absence entirely from the squad which squeaked past Salford City in the fourth round of the cup raised plenty of eyebrows.

As Manchester City gear up for an intriguing conclusion to the campaign, with glory domestically and on the continent very much up for grabs, they can ill afford to be without their frontman.

Here’s the latest on Haaland’s fitness.

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What Injury Does Erling Haaland Have?

Erling Haaland is rarely injured for long. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images

“Niggles” was the not entirely medical term which Guardiola has used to explain Haaland’s recent absence.

City’s No. 9 was forced off in the second half of the midweek win over Fulham with an issue which Guardiola vaguely wrote off as discomfort. Some aches and pains for the most targeted forward in the division are to be expected, particularly when Haaland is called upon to start so many fixtures.

Despite his absence against Salford, Haaland still boasts the most minutes of any Manchester City player this season, racking up 2,912 across all competitions—none of his teammates can come close to his stack of 34 starts.

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When Will Erling Haaland Return From Injury?

Erling Haaland was in his civvies for the visit of Salford. | Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Getty Images

Guardiola was keen to downplay the severity of Haaland’s injury. “Erling’s not 100%. It’s not a big issue, the doctor said to me,” he revealed. “But [Haaland] had some disturbance before and during the game and that’s why second half he didn’t play.

“We will see his evolution.”

Thanks to the late heroics of Guardiola’s old foe José Mourinho, City snuck into the Champions League top eight to avoid the punishment round which will unfold next week. While the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain are battling for their place in the round of 16, City have a free week to prepare for the visit of Newcastle United next Saturday evening.

It remains to be seen whether Haaland will be rushed back for this task—City comfortably defeated the Magpies earlier this month while their Nordic talisman watched from the bench. There is another seven days until City are next in action with a trip to Leeds United’s Elland Road—the home of the club which Haaland grew up supporting given his father’s time in Yorkshire.

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