City have been afflicted by injury to a number of influential players this term, with Kevin De Bruyne having been sidelined after the opening game of the season at Burnley with a hamstring issue.
Others, such as John Stones, have also endured lengthy spells out injured while, more latterly, Haaland has been missing for the past three matches with an issue affecting his foot.
CITY+ | SIGN UP TO ACCESS EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
The Norwegian striker was part of the City squad that flew out to Saudi Arabia at the weekend but whether he returns to action in Jeddah this week is yet to be determined.
However, addressing the media ahead of City’s FIFA Club World Cup semi-final against Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday, Bernardo was adamant that regardless of whether Haaland was available or not, he had every faith in the quality of all the players at Pep Guardiola’s disposal.
“Erling is a big player for us, we can’t deny that,” Bernardo said.
“But the big strength at City in my time here is no matter who is missing, we are the same team and we fight for all the titles.
“We will do that, of course if Erling Haaland is not here we will miss him but we have Julian Alvarez and he is a top striker.
“We play with the players we have in the month. We miss all our injured players.”
The FIFA showpiece comes in the midst of what has been a demanding schedule for City who will get straight back into the intensity of the Premier League on our return to Manchester.
For Bernardo however, the opportunity to try and win a trophy that City have never competed for before means any notion of fatigue can be disregarded.
“When you play the FIFA Club World Cup there is no tiredness,” the Portuguese international asserted.
“We are motivated to come here and play the competition.
“Almost all of us never won - and as a club we never won - the FIFA Club World Cup and we want to do it.
“First we have to play Urawa Red Diamonds and we will prepare well to do it.”
Every match at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup is available to watch in the UK on TNT Sports and FIFA+. For fans outside of the UK, click here to find out how you can watch the matches in Saudi Arabia.
The official Man City app will also have free live radio commentary as part of our usual Matchday Live show that includes studio guests previewing and analysing the action.
Urawa Red Diamonds v City app coverage
Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from one place.
Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, while our Matchday Live show will begin at 16:00 (UK).
In our studio, Izzy Christiansen, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott will complete our former blue line-up for Matchday Live to provide City-centric analysis of the game before, during and after the action.
They will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast, with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.
During the game you can also listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison while our text commentary continues on our Matchday Centre.
Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.
