Before the great victory achieved by Real Madrid against Manchester City to advance to the next round of the Champions, the big news was the decision made by Pep Guardiola when setting up his lineup, leaving Erling Haaland out of the team. He couldn’t play due to knee discomfort and wanted to send a message on his ‘X’ account.

Haaland's injury: an unexpected twist for Manchester City

The events date back to last Saturday during Manchester City’s victory over Newcastle. Just before the end of the match, Erling Haaland grabbed his knee after making a bad step, and while Guardiola was holding his head, all the alarms went off at Etihad Stadium.

Haaland had to be substituted immediately, and although he left the field without showing obvious signs of pain, he had to watch the rest of the match from the bench with his teammates: “When he was on the ground, everyone was scared, but he got up, walked, and left smiling as always. I didn’t talk to him, but the doctors didn’t bring bad news. Let’s hope he’s okay for Real Madrid”, said Guardiola after the match.

Haaland's future: When will he play again?

However, the prognosis turned out to be worse than originally thought, and Guardiola justified his substitution against Real Madrid shortly after announcing his lineup: “He trained a bit yesterday, but we talked this morning, and he told me he wasn’t feeling well, so we chose another player”. The surprising thing is that, despite the defeat, Haaland didn’t even warm up to make an appearance in the match.

In light of this situation, Haaland wanted to send a reassuring message to Manchester City fans, showing his long-term commitment when he renewed his contract until 2034: “We are still one. Sometimes, you have to experience this and learn from it. You can’t always win. Together, we will rise again”. For now, it’s unknown when he will be able to play again.