Man City injury news: Latest Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Savinho update from Pep Guardiola before Newcastle clash

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has provided the latest update on the fitness of his squad ahead of Saturday night’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium.

The Citizens have won each of their last four matches in all competitions, including a 2-0 home victory over Salford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last weekend.

Leading marksman Erling Haaland was left out of the squad that beat Salford after coming off at half time in City’s 3-0 Premier League win at home to Fulham on February 11.

Guardiola stated after that match that Haaland had “niggles” and was “not 100%”, but the Catalan coach was informed by club doctors that the striker’s problem is “not a big issue”.

Haaland has since been pictured in training this week, and when asked at a press conference on Friday if Man City’s No.9 will be fully fit to face Newcastle, Guardiola simply nodded to the media to confirm his availability.

Man City receive Haaland, Savinho injury boost, but Doku remains out

Man City will welcome Haaland’s return as the Norwegian has scored a team-high 29 goals in 37 appearances across all competitions this season, leading the Premier League scoring charts with 22 goals in 26 games.

However, Haaland has not been so prolific against Newcastle, as he has found the net just once in nine previous meetings, scoring in his first Premier League outing with the Magpies before blanking in the next eight across all tournaments.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has confirmed that Savinho “is ready” to return from a thigh injury this weekend, but fellow winger Jeremy Doku is “not ready” to make his first-team comeback as he needs more time to recover from a calf problem.

Doku has not played for the Citizens since he produced a super first-half display in a Champions League win over Galatasaray at the end of January, while Savinho has been absent since New Year’s Day when City were held to a goalless stalemate by Sunderland in the top flight.

There was no mention of Max Alleyne at Guardiola’s press conference; the defender was forced off with a knock in the first half of City’s win over Salford, but the defender may be able to shake off that issue to feature in the matchday squad against Newcastle.

Josko Gvardiol (tibial fracture) remains a long-term absentee, but Man City are hopeful that Mateo Kovacic (ankle/heel) can return to first-team training in the coming weeks after the midfielder recently shared footage of his individual training regime on social media.

Man City head into this weekend’s clash with Newcastle sitting second in the Premier League table and seeking to move to within two points of title rivals Arsenal, who were forced to play out a 2-2 draw with Wolves in midweek and will lock horns with North London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.