Yet, Pep Guardiola has made it clear that City are not planning to ease the demands on their leading striker.

Haaland struck twice in Norway's 4-1 win over Estonia on Thursday night, taking his tally to an extraordinary 30 goals in 19 appearances and pushing Norway to the brink of their first World Cup appearance since 1998. The 25-year-old will make his debut at a major international tournament next summer, meaning he is on course for a gruelling twelve-month schedule in one of the hottest climates ever expected for a World Cup.

City's reliance on Haaland has been constant. Since the Premier League season began in August, he has started 15 of City's 17 matches, missing only the Carabao Cup victories against Huddersfield and Swansea.

He has averaged 86 minutes per league start and has already reached approximately 1,300 minutes for City across all competitions, over 90 minutes more than Ruben Dias, the club's next most-used player.

That workload followed a demanding July in which Haaland played 256 minutes at the FIFA Club World Cup before City were knocked out by Al-Hilal in extra time in the last sixteen. A subsequent three-week break may prove to be a rare moment of relief in a season that is rapidly becoming the heaviest of his career.

His commitment for Norway has been just as intense. He featured for 45 minutes in a friendly win over Finland in September, missed a friendly against New Zealand in October, and has played all but one minute across seven World Cup qualifiers since June, including scoring five in an 11-1 victory over Moldova.

He is expected to make his 20th appearance of the campaign against Italy on Sunday, with Norway needing merely to avoid a nine-goal defeat to seal their qualification.

With City chasing Arsenal, currently four points ahead, and the Champions League league phase still in progress, Haaland's schedule is showing no signs of easing. He is expected to start against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, while his involvement against Napoli and AS Monaco may depend on whether progression is secured early.

If City progress deep into the Champions League and embark on another extended FA Cup run, Haaland could easily exceed 60 matches before the World Cup begins. Guardiola, however, has insisted he will not alter his plans to manage the striker through the longest season of his career.

Asked whether he would consider resting Haaland more frequently, Guardiola made his position clear. "I am so sorry for my colleague Stale Solbakken from Norway, but I am not thinking about that," he said. "Maybe at the end, if we win the Premier League by ten points with ten fixtures left, he will take a rest. Right now he feels fit, he feels fine.

"There are games when he might look tired and he will not play, but we are in a position where the Champions League is massively important. In the Premier League, I do not have the feeling Arsenal are going to drop many points."

Haaland has remained largely injury-free since his move to City for 51 million pounds, helped by an intense personal fitness regime that he recently revealed in a day-in-the-life video. City will hope that routine continues to keep him at peak level, because barring injury he looks set to carry the load for both club and country in what is shaping up to be the most demanding season of his career.

Jose Peseiro defends Victor Osimhen's AFCON contribution