Erling Haaland is injured! Huge blow for Man City as prolific striker ruled out of Luton clash with bone injury

City's top scorer was absent from the squad for the trip to Kenilworth Road and Pep Guardiola revealed he had a bone injury sustained in the last match at Aston Villa. The Norwegian, who is the top scorer in the Premier League with 14 goals, had started every previous league game for the treble winners. However, he failed to score in his last two outings and was particularly poor in the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Wednesday.

"Bone stress reaction in his foot," was how the City boss described Haaland's injury in his pre-match interview with Sky Sports. "He felt like this after the last game [against Aston Villa] and he cannot play. "I don't know [how bad it is], week by week, day by day we'll see what happens."

Haaland's injury is a huge blow for City, who desperately need to get back on track against Luton after failing to win their last four league games against Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and Aston Villa. The recovery time for bone tissue injuries can range from two to eight weeks, which could mean Haaland does not return to action until mid-February.

Haaland made history last month by becoming the fastest player to reach 50 Premier League goals (in 48 games) and to hit 40 Champions League goals (in 35 matches).

The good news for City is the injury comes at a time when they have a bit of respite after a gruelling set of recent fixtures. After facing Luton they visit Red Star Belgrade in a dead-rubber Champions League game (they have already qualified as group winners) and then host Crystal Palace before heading off to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup.