Erling Haaland will not participate in the winter tournament at Qatar.
Norway failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in November and he is expected to have a month off in the middle of the top-flight campaign.
He scored a brace on his debut for Manchester City earlier this month but failed to register a goal in his last game against Bournemouth last weekend.
Pep Guardiola suggests he won’t overuse the player in the coming months before the mid-season hiatus.
“No. Absolutely not. The decision I want to take here until the World Cup is not one second thinking about what is going to happen at the World Cup,” Guardiola said.
“The World Cup is not going to think one second about what is going to happen to the clubs after the World Cup.
“Erling is going to play because we think he has to play and he has to play really good. He has to feel competition in the squad too and every decision made is for the benefit to win that game.
“Unfortunately for him Norway cannot go to the World Cup. He will have one or two weeks’ holiday and after that come back to training and be ready to continue.”
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