Manchester City (Manchester City) "Monster striker" Elling Holan suffered from injury and his return was delayed the next day, with claims that his recovery was somewhat slow due to his large physique.
Global sports media "The Athletic" reported on the 28th that "Coach Pep Guardiola, who is in charge of Manchester City, said Holan will return in January," and that Guardiola had a press conference after the 18th round match of the 2023/24 English Premier League against Everton. Manchester City returned to the league immediately after winning the FIFA Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia and has been on a delayed schedule.
In the match against Everton, although Holan and key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne failed to return from injury, they won 3-1 against Everton to start their fourth consecutive Premier League victory.
"Although he is gradually improving, he is still excluded from the team's training," Guardiola said after the match. "I hope he can play together in January." "He is currently training alone. I am focusing on reducing pain."
Holan was absent suddenly ahead of the match against Luton Town in the middle of this month. Guardiola said that he showed signs of fracture in his foot due to accumulated fatigue, signaling that he is taking rest to prevent injury. For more than two weeks, Holan's return to the club has been completely unknown.
The reason why the date of his return is not clear is because of the player's own size.
"I have a fracture in my foot and it's very painful," Guardiola said. "I'm not a skinny player like (team-mate) Phil Foden. Hallan is huge and it's a bit difficult to treat," he said.
However, he reiterated that the situation is not serious enough to seriously disrupt his career. "When he gets better, I will come back and play," Guardiola said. "The team doctor reports on players who can play every morning."
He also reported the injury. De Bruyne, who was substituted in the first half of last season's UEFA Champions League final after suffering a hamstring injury, returned early this season but was unable to play until now due to a recurrence of the injury. He left the Premier League opener in mid-August due to injury again.
Fortunately, De Bruyne was seen participating in team training ahead of the Club World Cup, proving that his return was close.
Guardiola is also very cautious about the return of De Bruyne.
"We have to be careful. It was the same when he was injured for three months. If the timing is not right, he could get hurt again," he said, vowing not to hurry to play in the game. "I want him to play in the next game, but I want him to be healthy for a long time. I can't hurt him again after playing in one or two games."
However, he also said he is in excellent condition. "He is currently training with us. I am very positive that he will return to the stadium soon," Guardiola said. "I am working on my recovery step by step."
Currently, there is a dark cloud of injury hanging over Manchester City.
In the latest match against Everton, defender John Stones suffered a back-to-back ankle injury for the first time in more than two months. Guardiola called the Stones' injury "not looking very good" and said the injury was rather serious. Stones missed 12 games from August to October with a hip injury. This was his eighth appearance in the league against Everton.
Manchester City will end this year with a 19th round match against Sheffield United at midnight on the 31st.