Man City’s Haaland Out until End of January, Says Guardiola

Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland smiles during the preparations for the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 30, 2023. (AFP)
Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland smiles during the preparations for the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 30, 2023. (AFP)
TT
20

Man City’s Haaland Out until End of January, Says Guardiola

Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland smiles during the preparations for the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 30, 2023. (AFP)
Manchester City's Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland smiles during the preparations for the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Sheffield United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on December 30, 2023. (AFP)

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be sidelined until the end of January due to a foot injury, manager Pep Guardiola said.

City play Newcastle United in the Premier League later on Saturday, visit Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Jan. 26 before hosting Burnley in the league on Jan. 31.

Guardiola said he expects the 23-year-old Norwegian to return to training during their camp in Abu Dhabi next week.

"It's the bone. It needs time," Guardiola told reporters ahead of the trip to St. James' Park.

"It's fine, but the doctors decided to stop for one week and maybe restart in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully, at the end of this month, he'll be ready. It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning."

Haaland, the joint top scorer in the Premier League alongside Liverpool's Mohamed Salah with 14 goals, has missed City's last eight games in all competitions.

"We need him," Guardiola said. "Hopefully he can come back and play the last four or five months without a problem."

The City manager also said Swiss defender Manuel Akanji would be out of action until the end of the month but did have some positive news on Kevin De Bruyne, with the Belgian set to return to the starting 11.

The 32-year-old, who suffered a hamstring injury on the first day of the season against Burnley, came on as a substitute in the FA Cup win over Huddersfield last weekend.

Guardiola gave a positive response when asked if the midfielder could start at Newcastle.

"Yes. From what I saw yesterday I feel really good, he was dynamic, and the minutes he played was better than the training sessions before the Huddersfield game.

"He is getting better now, he will have a few days off after this game and can train in Abu Dhabi to be better for the next few months," he added.

City are third, five points behind leaders Liverpool, but Guardiola's side have a game in hand and the manager still believes they can win a fourth consecutive league title.

"How many points left? 18 or 19 games ... so obviously mathematically possible," the manager said.

Newcastle are ninth, 11 points behind City, and come into the game on the back of three consecutive league defeats.



Real Sociedad Appoint Francisco to Replace Alguacil as Manager from Next Season

Real Sociedad's head coach Imanol Alguacil gestures during the Spanish LaLiga match between Deportivo Alaves and Real Sociedad, in Vitoria, Spain, 13 April 2025. (EPA)
Real Sociedad's head coach Imanol Alguacil gestures during the Spanish LaLiga match between Deportivo Alaves and Real Sociedad, in Vitoria, Spain, 13 April 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Real Sociedad Appoint Francisco to Replace Alguacil as Manager from Next Season

Real Sociedad's head coach Imanol Alguacil gestures during the Spanish LaLiga match between Deportivo Alaves and Real Sociedad, in Vitoria, Spain, 13 April 2025. (EPA)
Real Sociedad's head coach Imanol Alguacil gestures during the Spanish LaLiga match between Deportivo Alaves and Real Sociedad, in Vitoria, Spain, 13 April 2025. (EPA)

Real Sociedad have appointed their reserve team coach Sergio Francisco as manager from next season to replace Imanol Alguacil who is stepping down at the end of the current campaign, the LaLiga club said on Friday.

Alguacil, in charge since 2018, won the Copa del Rey in 2020 and took Real to European football for five successive seasons. He informed the club on Thursday that he will leave the role at the end of the season, when his contract expires.

The club have again decided to appoint from within, and Francisco, who like Alguacil, began his playing career at Real, has managed their C and B teams since 2017, having previously taken charge of Real Union in Spain's third tier.

Francisco, 45, has signed a deal until 2027, and will take charge of the reserves for the final time on Saturday before dedicating himself to planning for next season.

Real are 10th in the LaLiga standings on 42 points and still in with a chance of qualifying for Europe once again.