Man City are set for a much-needed Erling Haaland boost that will delight Pep Guardiola

Following the conclusion of the FA Cup final on May 25, the countdown to the start of the European Championship in Germany will officially be on.

Just 20 days stand between the showpiece event at Wembley and the beginning of Euro 2024, where several of Manchester City's players will have ambitions of heading. Erling Haaland, however, will not be one of them.

Norway have failed to qualify for this summer's showpiece event, finishing third in their qualifying group behind Spain and Scotland. It means the striker's wait to represent his country at a major tournament for the first time is on hold for another two years at least.

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Although Haaland would have relished participating, Norway's failure to qualify is probably a welcome relief for Pep Guardiola. The City manager, who watched his side reach the FA Cup final for the second season running at the weekend, has been without his chief goal-getter more often than he would have liked this season.

Despite still managing to plunder 31 goals in just 39 matches this term, the former Borussia Dortmund man has missed 11 matches through injury, with his latest absence coming against Chelsea on Saturday. His longest period of absence was between early-December and the very end of January, meaning he missed the Club World Cup campaign in Saudi Arabia just before Christmas.

While City have coped well without him, winning all but one of the 11 matches he has missed, the fact he is set for a summer off without international commitments will please Guardiola. Norway have two friendlies in early-June, facing Kosovo and Denmark, but beyond