“What I can say is” – Norway national team manager breaks silence on Oscar Bobb’s Manchester City training ground injury

Norway’s international team manager Ståle Solbakken has become the first within the game to formally comment on Oscar Bobb’s injury setback in Manchester City training.

The versatile attacking talent Oscar Bobb is now expected to endure a lengthy spell on the sidelines for Manchester City, with the understanding being that the 21-year-old fractured a bone in his leg during training on Wednesday.

The official line on the incident is that Bobb sustained his fracture during a non-contact situation when he was turning, with the Premier League champions now expected to assess the full extent of the injury in the coming days.

There remains a possibility that given the severity of the injury, Manchester City and Oscar Bobb’s inner circle could deem it necessary to visit the club’s trusted and renowned specialist in Barcelona – Dr. Ramon Cugat – for further assessment.

With Pep Guardiola not due to speak to the media until Friday afternoon, official words from those within the game have been hard to come by in the immediate aftermath to confirmation of Oscar Bobb’s problem. But one name close to the player has spoken in light of the news.

Speaking exclusively to TV 2 in Norway, national team head coach Ståle Solbakken has revealed his initial conversations with those in relevant positions at Manchester City regarding the health and fitness of Oscar Bobb following his training ground injury.

“What I can say is that I have spoken to Mario (Pafundi, Manchester City First-Team Sport Therapist) who can confirm that there is probably an injury of a certain extent,” Solbakken admitted.

“I can’t say anything more now,” he closed.

Following the late starts to pre-season for many of Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad, as well as a stellar showing in the United States and the FA Community Shield, Oscar Bobb was in line for a Premier League start against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

The Manchester City manager will now be forced towards other options, and could yet call upon Savinho to start on the right of Manchester City’s front-three, following an encouraging cameo appearance against Manchester United last weekend.

Elsewhere, Manchester City have now seen their complete contingent of first-team players return to duties at the City Football Academy, with Rodrigo reporting for pre-season fitness testing on Wednesday, shortly after his English European Championship final opponents.