Man City handed Haaland boost as Real Madrid suffer Mbappé Injury blow

Erling Haaland trained with his teammates atManchester City on Tuesday morning ahead of their crucial UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

The Norwegian striker missed Saturday’s FA Cup match in which City came from behind to beat Newcastle United 3–1. Manager Pep Guardiola explained that Haaland was rested as the club prepares for a demanding run of fixtures, including the Champions League tie against the Spanish giants and the Carabao Cup final later this month.

“I was not planning to play him,” Guardiola said. “I would prefer him to have good training sessions rather than travel and play just 10–15 minutes.”

It was the second match in three that Haaland had missed, after also sitting out the victory over Leeds United with a minor knock before returning for the 2–2 draw against Nottingham Forest.

However, the prolific striker is now expected to start Wednesday’s Champions League encounter after taking part in full training under Guardiola’s supervision. Only Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic were absent from City’s session ahead of the last-16 first-leg clash.

The situation is less encouraging for Madrid. The Spanish club is dealing with several injury concerns, with seven first-team players missing from training, including star forward Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé was absent from the main training group on both Monday and Tuesday due to a persistent knee problem, ruling him out of the midweek clash against City. However, the club remains hopeful he could return for the second leg next Tuesday.

“Mbappé is much better, but we have to take it one day at a time,” said Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa. “He has come back feeling great, and we will monitor his progress step by step.”

Madrid will also be without Jude Bellingham, who has been sidelined since last month with a hamstring injury, along with Éder Militão, David Alaba, Dani Ceballos, Rodrygo and Álvaro Carreras.

City will be hoping Haaland’s return provides a major boost as they aim to gain an advantage in the first leg of the highly anticipated European showdown.