Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne have been sidelined with hamstring and ankle injuries (Photo: Getty)

Pep Guardiola says he is still sweating over the fitness of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne despite the Manchester City stars returning to training.

City kick-off 2024 with an FA Cup third-round clash against Huddersfield Town on Sunday, with only two more games in the rest of January: Premier League clashes against Newcastle and Burnley.

However, the Citizens could be missing up to eight players as they begin their cup defence, chief among them Haaland and De Bruyne, despite the latter featuring on the bench for the 2-0 win over Sheffield United last week.

The Belgian attacking midfielder hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring just 23 minutes into the opening game of the season back in August.
Star striker Haaland has also been sidelined for the last month with an ankle issue, with teammates Jeremy Doku and John Stones also in the treatment room.

And Guardiola has revealed in his pre-match press conference on Friday that while three of the four are back in training, they may not be fit for the next couple of games.

‘Jeremy feels really, really good and Kevin as well. And Erling is also a little bit better,’ the manager said.

Bernardo Silva is one of three Man City players struggling with illness (Photo: Getty)

‘But in the two or three training sessions they feel good and are improving. I don’t know about Sunday or Newcastle b...