'I'll be back', pledges Haaland after suffering ankle injury

Erling Haaland pledged to return with a vengeance after learning he will be sidelined for up to seven weeks with an ankle injury.

Haaland had to be withdrawn in the second half of Manchester City's 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory over Bournemouth on Sunday, shortly after scoring the equaliser.

It was subsequently confirmed by Pep Guardiola that Haaland will miss between five and seven weeks of action, though he should be back ahead of the Club World Cup.

That means he will, as a minimum, sit out Premier League matches against Leicester City, Manchester United, Crystal Palace, Everton and Wolves.

He will also miss City's FA Cup semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest in late April, though he may be fit to feature in the final on May 17, should Guardiola's men advance.

On Wednesday, Haaland shared an image of himself on crutches on his social media channels, alongside the caption: "I'll be back".

Despite City falling out of Premier League title contention in 2024-25, Haaland has continued his lethal form in front of goal.

He has 30 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions this season, with only Robert Lewandowski (38), Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane (both 33), Mohamed Salah and Ousmane Dembele (both 32) netting more among all players from Europe's top five leagues.

Haaland is the first player to score at least 30 goals in each of his first three seasons while playing for a Premier League club since Ruud van Nistelrooy did so for Manchester United from 2001-02 to 2003-04.

He also recorded his 100th Premier League goal involvement prior to the international break (84 goals, 16 assists) in just 94 appearances.

That is fewer than any other player has required to bring up a century, with Alan Shearer previously holding the record, his first 100 contributions coming in his first 100 games.

100 - With 84 goals and 16 assists in 94 games, Erling Haaland has reached 100 goal involvements in fewer appearances than any player in Premier League history. Machine. pic.twitter.com/FrEmM67wbg
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 15, 2025

Since Haaland joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, City have won 66% of their Premier League games with the Norwegian in their starting lineup (62/94).

Interestingly, City have a better win percentage without him starting, winning eight of 11 games for a ratio of 72.7%.

They have also averaged just as many goals without Haaland starting (2.3 per game) as they have with him.

Haaland previously missed almost two months through injury between December 2023 and January 2024, and City went unbeaten through 11 matches in all competitions in that spell (10 wins, one draw), also lifting the Club World Cup trophy.