Pep Guardiola has admitted Erling Haaland will take time to get back to full match sharpness after the Manchester City striker missed the World Cup.
The Norwegian, along with Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Gomez, was one of few City players to sit out the tournament in Qatar but did score in a friendly win over Girona before Thursday’s Carabao Cup tie with Liverpool.
Some in the game had feared that those playing at the World Cup may suffer from fatigue yet Guardiola has indicated that they are the players in better shape for the restart.
He told reporters: “We will see. I have players from the World Cup who are in a better condition than [those who didn’t go].
“Sergio, Erling, Riyad are missing a little bit.
“The players who came back have competed and trained every day. It’s normal to keep the rhythm.
“Step by step people are coming back, today six players came back. We are happy they are back, in general they’re playing really well.
“The had a unique experience. [Now we] let them try to come back as soon as possible, to work for the team and maybe in four years they live another experience.”
One player who will not feature against Liverpool is World Cup winner Julian Alvarez, who Guardiola confirmed will have a week off following his exploits in Qatar.
The manager said: “We are incredibly happy for him, congratulations to him and [former City defender Nicolas] Otamendi, and personally to [Lionel] Messi. To Argentina, well deserved.
“We're delighted for Julian, he played a lot, his contribution was amazing for the team. We have a world champion in our team. He'll have a week, ten days off. Many games, lots of tension. He'll have a break, maybe before the New Year.”
