Long-term injury hint? Erling Haaland’s father sells his son in FPL as Man City sweat on ‘bone stress’ in star striker’s foot

Norway international Haaland sat out City’s 2-1 victory over Luton with a “bone stress injury” in his foot, with Pep Guardiola reluctant to take any gambles on the prolific striker’s fitness. City insist that no fracture has been suffered, but have also given little away with it comes to a possible return date for their fearsome No.9.

FPL experts on TikTok have now noted that Alf Inge Haaland opted to offload his son before a ball was kicked at Kenilworth Road. He could have chosen to stick Erling on the bench – as a £14 million asset and the most expensive player in the game – allowing him to be moved back into fantasy XIs once cleared to resume top-flight action.

The fact that Haaland senior has done away with his son completely is considered to be a nod towards a lengthy spell on the sidelines being taken in. Alf Inge has stuck with the City theme when it comes to his FPL selection, with World Cup-winning Argentina international Julian Alvarez drafted into his attacking unit.

Guardiola has conceded that Haaland remains a doubt for City’s home date with Crystal Palace on Saturday – while also sitting out a Champions League game with Crvena zvezda – and with the Blues adding FIFA Club World Cup duty to their packed schedule, Haaland may not be seen in the Premier League again until at least December 27.