Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have been boosted by the return of Erling Haaland to training as normal on Monday morning at a crucial time for the club.

The Premier League champions will be hoping to get back to a consistent run of winning form, having drawn three of their last four matches across all competitions, with their latest two outings coming in light of Rodri’s long-term injury problem.

The 28-year-old has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL and meniscus injury that required surgery in the Spanish capital of Madrid, and leaves Pep Guardiola with decisions to be made over who will deputise in the role for a significant period of time.

Concerns over a growing injury list were further heightened on Saturday afternoon after star striker Erling Haaland sustained a number of heavy blows during the 1-1 draw with Newcastle, and was spotted limping out of St James’ Park en route back to Manchester.

However, as the Champions League-hunting side returned to duties for the final time before a flight to Bratislava this week, the 24-year-old forward handed Manchester City with a much-needed fitness boost.

The striker was part of the club’s 24-man squad that trained as normal at a rainy City Football Academy, hoping to earn himself another start in European action this week as Manchester City go in search of their first points in the brand new league phase.

It was a hotly-contested tactical battle the last time Manchester City competed in the UEFA Champions League, as the 2023 finalists were reunited at the Etihad Stadium and playing out a 0-0 draw under the lights.

SK Slovan Bratislava are Manchester City’s next opponents in the competition on Tuesday night, and will be hoping to put a much more commendable performance in than the one that was played out on matchday one against Celtic in Glasgow.

Goals from Liam Scales, Kyogo Furuhashi, Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda, and Adam Idah recorded a staggering 5-1 win for the Scottish Premier League champions in the new league phase of the competition.