Man City Heavy Blow, Erling Haaland's Layer Broken Leg

Manchester City forward Oscar Bobb picked up an injury ahead of England's Premier League first game against Chelsea. (X/@ManCity)

JAKARTA - The Manchester City heavy blow ahead of the inaugural match in the English Premier League competition. Oscar Bobb's forward suffered a broken leg so he was definitely absent from the match against Chelsea, Sunday, August 18, 2024 evening WIB.

An unfavorable start for Man City. The Premier League defending champions started the fight by visiting Chelsea d Stamford Bridge headquarters. But The Cityzens already had to lose Bobb who suffered a leg injury during training.

According to The Times, Bobb's injury was beyond expectations. He did not experience any collisions with other players in team training. Now he has to undergo further examination. The club also plans to send Bobb to Barcelona for a bone specialist to check.

Bobb's injury was clearly a blow to Man City. Especially after the club released striker Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid for 82 million.

Initially, Pep Guardiola's manager did not mind releasing Alvarez who was no longer at home in Man City because he only became Haaland's coating. Moreover, Guardiola will immediately sell players who do not match his tactics and strategy policies.

Guardiola predicts Bobb who was brought in from Valerenga in 2019 could replace Alvarez. Last season, the Norwegian national team striker scored two goals in 26 appearances. This Haaland compatriot also showed impressive performance during the pre-season tour.

And for sure, he has no objection to being Haaland's coating. The reason is, Guardiola continues to use a single striker formation in the team's strategy.

When appearing in the Community Shield match against Manchester United, Bobb performed optimally. This 21-year-old player made an assist completed by Bernardo Silva so that he equalized the score 1-1 when the game was only one minute left in normal time. Man City finally beat MU through a penalty shootout.

Bobb's brilliant performance made Guardiola optimistic about the new season despite not getting a replacement for Alvarez. Especially after the plan to buy Rodrygo from Real Madrid which is projected to replace Alvarez failed.

Guardiola said that Bobb had the opportunity to become the mainstay of Man City in the 2024/2025 season. However, a broken leg injury forced him to step aside for rehabilitation.

Man City not only lost Bobb, but also midfielder Jack Grealish has doubts about appearing in the first match.

Grealish, who failed to strengthen England at Euro 2024, suffered a minor injury which saw him miss the Community Shield match. This 28-year-old player must recover quickly if he wants to appear in Man City's first match.