Pep Guardiola has confirmed that striker Erling Holland is feeling ‘much better’ but stopped short of declaring the Norwegian fit for Manchester City’s meeting with Fulham on Saturday.
Holland has missed City’s last two games in all competitions as a result of what Guardiola described as ‘ligament damage’, with Julian Alvarez signing to replace him in the summer.
After being held to a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Leicester, the Argentine exploded with a goal to help in a 3-1 comeback victory over Sevilla in midweek. Whether Alvarez gets another start remains a mystery, however, as Guardiola refused to give anything away in his pre-match press conference.
“He is much better, so we will decide today,” Guardiola said of Hollande. “We’ve trained this afternoon and then we’ll see. It all depends on himself, his opinion and the opinion of the doctors. It could be 90 minutes or less.”
Asked if Alvarez was ready to recruit for the Netherlands for the third time in a week, Guardiola laughed and said: “He’s so young, at that age you can play every day.”
Manuel Akanji is fit for the trip to Fulham after missing the Sevilla game, while Kyle Walker and Calvin Phillips are sidelined.