In another season, the Manchester City medical team would be giving themselves a pat on the back.

Erling Haaland, who arrived with fitness issues from Dortmund and whose size makes it an improbability that he will stay fit, has been more machine than ever this season. The goals may have dried up but Haaland is the one player more than any other that Pep Guardiola has been able to rely on to have on the pitch.

Nobody in the squad has managed more than the 2,222 minutes the No.9 has clocked up already this season, with Josko Gvardiol the only other player to have broken through the 2,000 mark. Haaland has already played what it took him until February to achieve in his first two seasons at the Etihad.

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It isn't just at City where Haaland's numbers are impressive; looking at Transfermarkt figures that include international football, the only Premier League stars to have featured more for club and country are Andre Onana and William Saliba. Since the season started, Haaland has averaged 145 minutes of football every week.

That is a phenomenal achievement, yet it also points at an issue for City. The decision not to sign a replacement for Julian Alvarez has been weakened by a leg fracture for Oscar Bobb in August and intermittent issues for Phil Foden, meaning there has been nobody who could take Haaland's place.

Playing so much at this point could be sign that Haaland is fitter than ever - Guardiola has remarked on how the striker has looked fitter - but may also lead to issues later on in the campaign. There's also the argument that had the 24-year-old played less frequently he could have been sharper when he was on the pitch.

Those are minor when you consider his 18 goals are far more than any teammate but and impressive number by their own count, but compared to previous seasons he is scoring fewer goals per minute. From around 80 in his first season and just over 100 in his second, he is currently clocking in at 123 minutes per goal and now has more matches he hasn't scored in than matches he has after blanks against Juventus and United.

City are still better when Haaland is on the pitch, and the more games he can play in the better for everyone. But it is the nature of City's current plight that even the positives carry potential problems.