Erling Haaland celebrates after a goal. (Courtesy: Manchester City/Twitter)

Manchester City star forward Erling Haaland continued to be sidelined as his side edged past Newcastle 3-2 in the Premier League clash on Saturday. The defending champions have struggled to remain at the top of the table in the absence of their talismanic goal scorer. They currently find themselves in the second spot, five points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, with one match in hand.

Haaland, who recently finished at the second spot in FIFA”s Best Award, is still out of action with a foot injury and is expected to step up his process of return in Abu Dhabi during the warm-weather training break. The Pep Guardiola-managed side is expected to train in Abu Dhabi during the two-week break ahead of their next fixture in the fourth round of the FA Cup at Tottenham on January 26.

Meanwhile, Guardiola had confirmed ahead of the Newcastle match that Haaland will not return until January, as the Norwegian has suffered a setback. “Yeah, a little bit,” Guardiola said when asked if Haaland had suffered a setback. “He’s fine, but a little problem, disturbing his feet. The doctors decide to stop for one week and restart maybe in Abu Dhabi.

“Hopefully at the end of this month he will be ready. A little bit more than we expected at the beginning in his bone. The bone needs time. Every injury you can do what you want but it’s a question of time. He’ll be ready to come back at the end of this month.”

After missing out City”s away fixture against Newcastle, he is likely to miss out on their fourth round FA Cup clash against Tottenham on January 26 and Burnley on January 31. The treble winners will then head to Brentford on February 5 and host Everton on February 10. It is likely that Haaland will target to make a return to the side during those matches.

However, as expected, Guardiola and Manchester City will not be in a rush to return their star player, risking him of a long-term injury.