Pep Guardiola has warned Erling Haaland to keep himself in peak condition during his World Cup break.
Norway's failure to qualify for the tournament means Manchester City goal machine Haaland will have a month off while most of his team-mates are competing in Qatar. Guardiola hailed Haaland's professionalism but joked the prolific striker - who has 22 goals in 14 games for City - must not let himself go during his enforced mid-season break.
"He will be in Marbella or Norway," said Guardiola. "How perfect he is when he returns will depend on how he behaves in Marbella. He has a house there.
"He will play golf and hopefully not eat much and drink much! It’s the first time in our lives it will happen [a winter World Cup], so we don’t know how the players will come back.
“If they are champions, the players will be really positive, or the guys knocked out might have more holidays. This incredible schedule, you’ve seen how many players will miss the World Cup because of this insane calendar. People are used to it.
"Some will need less time, some more time, but they will settle. They will adapt. We’ll see how they feel, we’ll smell it. We’ll adapt to our routine to play again."
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Haaland returns to former club Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening for the first time since his £51million summer move to City, who need a point to clinch top spot in Group G. Guardiola has admitted he's learnt more about the striker's game since the move.
He added: "I didn't know how good he was moving in small spaces in the box, he scores a lot in the box. He goes away from the action to be closer to the goal, these kind of moments is not easy for a striker. Apart from that his work ethic, he is one of the first to arrive for the training centre, one of the last to leave."
Haaland struggled with injuries during his time at Dortmund, playing just 24 Bundesliga games last term. On the player's fitness, Guardiola said: "He looks after his body, well educated in how he has to live as a professional and he has the intent to get better.
"Last season he had a few injury problems but this year thanks to our doctors and physios he can play every three days which is really important for us and for him."
Guardiola knows Dortmund's Westfalenstadion well after his three-year spell at Bayern Munich. On the ground's atmosphere, he said: "It's a fantastic stadium everybody knows it. Atmosphere, attractive football they play.
"When I was here in Germany, I played against [Jurgen] Klopp and [Thomas] Tuchel and always had difficult games. Fantastic atmosphere, happy to be back here. Three years ago we came back in Covid times, which was a pity. I think that game was one of the highlights of my City career, when we won here and went to the semi-finals of the Champions League."
