Haaland not yet ready

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will miss their FA Cup fourth round game with Tottenham Hotspur, but is close to a return to action, manager Pep Guardiola says.

Haaland has missed City’s last nine games in all competitions with a foot injury, and Guardiola is prepared to wait until the Norwegian forward is fully recovered.

“He is on the verge to come back,” Guardiola told reporters. “Training camp was good and the last two days here he trained but he’s not perfect and we wait a little bit more.”

The manager also reported that defender Manuel Akanji will miss Friday’s trip to Spurs but both defender John Stones and goalkeeper Ederson are available for selection.

He confirmed the news that midfielder Kalvin Phillips is in London for a medical at West Ham United before to a probable loan move.

“He travelled yesterday for a medical test, but probably it is going to be a loan for six months, and hopefully he can play the minutes he deserves that I couldn’t give to him,” the manager said.

“If I give him 10-15 games in a row he will play good but I did not give him that. I have players in the squad and decide we are looking for different things. I can only say how grateful I am for his behaviour off the pitch and hopefully he can get the minutes, and next season we will see what happens.”

Guardiola responded to Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin’s comments that European football’s governing body was right to ban City from European competition in 2020 for breaching financial regulations, a decision that was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

City, who have denied wrongdoing, are facing 115 charges from the Premier League over breaching financial rules. “As the lawyer that he is, the president of Uefa should wait, and after, do whatever he wants,” Guardiola said. “He knows we have the right to defend ourselves.”