Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Braut Haaland is 'still not perfect' and will be assessed before Wednesday's EFL Cup third-round clash against Chelsea.
The 22-year-old missed successive games against Leicester City and Sevilla due to a ligament injury in his foot, but he returned as a substitute and scored a last-gasp winning penalty to help the Citizens win 2-1 against Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Haaland's strike against the Cottagers has seen his goal tally for the season increase to 23 after just 17 appearances across all competitions, with 18 of his strikes netted in just 12 Premier League games.
The Norwegian goal machine has admitted that it has been difficult to watch on from the sidelines over the last week as he is keen to play every game, but Guardiola has suggested that City's No.9 is not 100% ahead of Wednesday's cup tie at the Etihad Stadium.
With Haaland not heading to the 2022 World Cup after Norway failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar, the Scandinavian nation are scheduled to face the Republic of Ireland and Finland in two friendly fixtures on November 17 and 20 respectively.
© Reuters
Asked at a press conference on Tuesday whether Haaland will be fit for City's clash with Chelsea and to represent Norway later this month, Guardiola said: "He's still not perfect. We'll see tomorrow.
"Important is the bone is not broken. Just ligament damage a little bit. Not perfect right now. He is getting better. A week, ten days, see what happens. If he feels good, he plays for the national team."
Guardiola has also confirmed that right-back Kyle Walker will not play against Chelsea as he continues to recover from groin surgery, but the Citizens have been handed an injury boost regarding midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
The 26-year-old England international has been sidelined since the end of September after undergoing shoulder surgery, but he has recently taken part in partial training sessions with the first-team squad as he continues to build up his fitness.
Guardiola has now confirmed that Phillips "will be with the squad" for Wednesday's game against Chelsea, with the midfielder set to begin on the substitutes' bench.
Phillips revealed on Monday that he is "very hopeful" of receiving a call-up from England manager Gareth Southgate for the 2022 World Cup, with the Three Lions required to submit their final 26-man squad by November 13.
© Reuters
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Phillips said: "The shoulder's perfectly fine now. I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
"I've obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I've kept my fitness up and I'd like to think I could play 90 minutes. I'm very hopeful that I can be involved (at the World Cup). We will have to wait and see.
"Pep has been great and he has spoken to me quite a lot. It is part of football and he understands that. After my first full contact session the other day he said he would hopefully try and get me minutes against Chelsea.
"[Following surgery] I spoke to Gareth and told him about my situation. I said I understood if he didn't select me but he reassured me that 'as long as you're fit enough and you prove you're progressing well, there's always a chance you will be called up'.
"I've done everything in my power to be as fit as possible and hopefully I will be involved."
Man City, who have won the EFL Cup in four of the last five seasons under Guardiola, will be looking to progress to the fourth round with a victory over Graham Potter's Chelsea, who lost 1-0 at home against Arsenal last weekend.
No Data Analysis info
Germany
Switzerland
Hungary
Scotland
Spain
Italy
Croatia
Albania
England
Denmark
Slovenia
Serbia
Austria
France
Netherlands
Poland
Romania
Belgium
Slovakia
Ukraine
Portugal
Turkey
Georgia
Czech Republic