Pep Guardiola acknowledged that Erling Haaland had been suffering an ankle injury when he had to be replaced in the second half of Manchester City’s 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.
Haaland and Joao Cancelo both felt ill before the game, Pep Guardiola revealed, and the manager acknowledged he was unsure as to the severity of his superstar striker’s injury.
The Norwegian has scored 22 goals already this season in only 16 appearances, and City will be hoping he stays fit and continues his form through a dense run of fixtures before the season breaks for the World Cup on 13 November.
When asked about Haaland’s injury, Guardiola said: “He had a knock in his foot. That’s why he was not able to play the second half … I spoke with (the medical staff) at half-time and they were a little bit concerned, but I saw him walking more or less normally. We will see.”
Asked if it could be serious, the manager added: “I don’t know right now.
“Today we were exhausted, the game against Brighton drained us a lot – it was demanding, man to man, it was physically so demanding.”
Guardiola refused to be drawn on whether Haaland will become designated penalty-taker after Mahrez saw his second-half spot-kick saved.
Mahrez also had a penalty saved in City’s previous Champions League tie earlier this month when they were held 0-0 in Copenhagen. City’s latest penalty miss was the 25th they have failed to convert in all competitions since the start of the 2016-17 season, more than any other Premier League club.
Guardiola said: “We’ll see, we’ll see what happens now. Of course it’s a problem. We’ve missed 25 penalties, most of them in the Champions League. That’s too much. I always admire their courage, (taking) the responsibility to do it, but of course we’ve missed a lot of penalties and this is a problem.
“We missed (one) in Copenhagen and here as well, so we have to improve otherwise these are the small margins in this competition that could make the difference.”
Dortmund’s England midfielder Jude Bellingham was pleased his side had restricted City to few chances and had kept Haaland quiet.
Bellingham told BT Sport: “Defensively we were really good. I don’t think many teams keep clean sheets against Manchester City this season, so it’s really promising from that respect. It’s nice to keep all the City players out, but especially him because we know how dangerous he is.
“I’m not too satisfied because I haven’t scored tonight either, but ultimately we’re happy because we got the draw and can continue our journey.”