Defending champions Manchester City will be without their star striker Erling Haaland until the end of January at least. The Norwegia goal machine is nursing a foot injury and will not feature against Newcastle United on Saturday.
The joint Premier League top scorer didn't play the last eight games for his team across competitions. His last appearance for the champions was on December 6 when they were beaten 1-0 by Aston Villa.
"It's the bone. It needs time. It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. With every injury you can do whatever you want but it's a question of time. Hopefully, at the end of this month, he'll be ready," Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was quoted as saying by Reuters.
On Friday, Guardiola also confirmed that defender John Stones (ankle) won't suit up against Newcastle.
The 23-year-old Haaland, who has returned to training, has also scored five goals in Champions League play this campaign.
Playmaking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is set for more minutes Saturday, possibly as a starter for the defending champions as they look to pull within two points of league leader Liverpool.
The Belgium international returned from a hamstring injury Sunday as a second-half substitute in City's 5-0 win over Huddersfield in the FA Cup. Right on cue, De Bruyne provided an assist on Jeremy Doku's goal.
The team will head to Abu Dhabi after the match at St. James' Park for some warm-weather training ahead of its next game at Tottenham on Jan. 26 in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
- With PTI inputs