Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Erling Haaland is likely to be out until the end of January.
The Norway international has not stepped onto the pitch since playing the duration of a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa on December 6.
There was initial hope that he would recover from a foot injury to return for the early stages of the new year, but he is still yet to resume full training with his Man City teammates.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with Newcastle United, Guardiola explained that Haaland remains sidelined and is set to work on his recovery in the club's warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi.
"Yes, [he has had] a little bit of disturbing problems in his feet," the Man City boss told reporters at Friday's press conference.
"It's fine but the doctors decided to stop for one week and maybe restart in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully, at the end of this month he'll be ready.
"It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. It's the bone. It needs time. With every injury you can do whatever you want but it's a question of time."
Guardiola admitted that his side miss the 23-year-old striker, who has scored 19 goals in 22 competitive appearances this season.
The Man City boss added: "We miss Erling a lot. We need him. Hopefully, he can come back and play the last four or five months without a problem. When you are injured at end of November, you miss a lot of games. It's the toughest period."
If Haaland is unable to play again this month, he will be absent for Man City's FA Cup clash with Tottenham Hotspur on January 26 and a league fixture against Burnley on January 31.
In addition to his main striker, Guardiola goes into the weekend without the defensive duo of John Stones and Manuel Akanji.
The European champions will be able to call upon Kevin De Bruyne, who is available to start his first game following a significant spell in the treatment room.
Having won their last five matches in all competitions, the Citizens will be looking to continue their fine run of form in Saturday's trip to the North-East.
Man City will enter the fixture in third position in the Premier League table with five points separating them from leaders Liverpool. body check tags ::
