Pep Guardiola has revealed what Manchester City are doing to help prevent injuries to Erling Haaland after the Norway striker’s explosive Premier League impact.
Haaland arrived at the Etihad last summer after City activated the release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract, with the Premier League club paying a £51.2m fee.
The 22-year-old Norwegian striker, who is under contract with City until 2027, has been lauded for his remarkable form in the final third in the current campaign.
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Haaland has scored an incredible 45 times in 39 appearances across all competitions in his debut season with the Premier League club.
The ex-Dortmund star has found the back of the net 30 times in 27 Premier League appearances, with Haaland the clear frontrunner for the Golden Boot this season.
According to Transfermarkt, Haaland has only missed four matches for City this season due to injuries.
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The Norway international was nursing a bruised foot from late October to early November and suffered a groin injury in mid-March before returning in early April.
Guardiola admitted that he was unsure how Dortmund took care of Haaland during his spell in Germany, but he revealed City have their measures in place for him.
The City boss claimed that the club take care of Haaland “24 hours” a day and they “have to watch him because he’s so big.”
“I don’t know what they did in Dortmund, but we take care of him 24 hours,” Guardiola said.
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“We have incredible doctors and physios, they are behind him every second of the day.
“We know we have to watch him because he’s so big.
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“The physios take care of him. He is massaged, his back, shoulders, tendons, everything.
“He works so much time inside the training centre, much more than on the pitch.
“Today in modern football, players train more behind the scenes than on the pitch.”
Guardiola continued: “It’s difficult to understand why you spend a lot of money on a player and then leave them.
“Today, with this demanding schedule of games every three or four days, we have to take care of them.
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“It’s so demanding, with nutrition, rest, sleep, food.
“For the training, how many minutes they should play? There is data that says they cannot train [for] more than 10 or 15 minutes.
“People say why was Haaland subbed against Leipzig when he’d scored five goals? But then he was injured after the Burnley game next, so could not play with us against Liverpool or for Norway.”
Topics: Erling Haaland, Manchester City, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz