Erling Haaland: Pep Guardiola Offers Injury Update After Man City Star Suffers Scare vs Bournemouth

• Pep Guardiola has downplayed the severity of Erling Haaland's injury
• The Manchester City striker hobbled off at halftime during their game against Bournemouth
• The EPL defending champions have a date with Chelsea next Sunday

Manchester City Head Coach Pep Guardiola has offered uplifting news over the fitness concerns of Erling Haaland ahead of their showdown against Chelsea next weekend.

Haaland was substituted off at half-time in his side's 6-1 rout over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on November 4.

A five-star performance for Jeremy Doku saw the Belgian bag four assists and a goal to help the defending champions go top of the Premier League table ahead of Tottenham's Monday night action. Bernardo Silva(2), Phil Foden, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake scored the other goals.

Erling Haaland's injury update

The result, however, came at a cost, with Haaland only lasting 45 minutes before he was taken off for Phil Foden. Speaking after the game, Guardiola allayed fears that it was a serious injury, calling it an 'ankle twist.'

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"It was a twist in the ankle; we didn't want to take risks with him. He didn't feel comfortable. Hopefully, it is not a big issue," said the Spanish head coach, as quoted by Football London.

Guardiola also confirmed that the Norwegian might be back in time to face Young Boys on Tuesday in the Champions League before making the trip to London to play Chelsea next Sunday.

"He'll be back maybe Tuesday, but maybe next Sunday."

Manchester City won't want to lose the 23-year-old who was recently given the Gerd Muller trophy for his goalscoring exploits in Europe last season. They currently have Kevin De Bruyne out on a long-term injury.

Messi beats Haaland to ballon d'Or

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time in his career at a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 30.

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Messi, 36, succeeds Karim Benzema as the winner of the prize awarded for his performances last season when he inspired Argentina to glory at the World Cup.