Man City issue injury update on Erling Haaland, John Stones and Ederson ahead of Tottenham fixture

Erling Haaland is close to a return to the Manchester City side but won't be fit enough to be in the squad to face Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday.

The striker returned to training during the break in Abu Dhabi and has continued to train since City returned home earlier in the week, but he hasn't played since December 6 when he suffered a foot injury.

Haaland has already suffered one setback after attempting to return to training in December so City are taking no chances with him and although Guardiola said he is close to a return, he is happy to wait a little longer for his star striker.

ALSO READ: City confirm Claudio Echeverri transfer from River Plate

ALSO READ: Real Madrid knock City off top spot in Deloitte Money League

"He is on the verge of coming back. Tomorrow he is not ready but he is close. Training camp was good, he trained some sessions, the last few days here he trained, but it is not perfect and we will wait a little bit more," he said.

Ederson will be in the City squad after shaking off an injury he suffered early on in the 3-2 win at Newcastle and John Stones will also return to the squad, but Manuel Akanji will be absent.

City are aiming to shake off a hoodoo at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, having lost all five visits there and failed to find the back of the net once, missing two penalties in the process.

"That is the reality for us. Of course it is a final, a knockout stage and to go through we have to score goals," he said.

"Always it is a new opportunity to break it and the feeling is most of the times we were exceptional, we played really good but the reality is there, no goals, five defeats."

The January transfer window is here once again and we wait to see whether Manchester