Erling Haaland is ‘touch and go’ for Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool at the start of April, according to the Norwegian star’s dad.
Haaland has enjoyed an incredible first season in the Premier League – netting 28 times in 26 games, continuing his remarkable streak of goalscoring from his days at Borussia Dortmund in the last three years.
But there was concern for the striker after he suffered groin pain against Burnley last weekend – with Noways’ FA confirming that the injury will leave Haaland absent from their games against Spain and Georgia.
Erling’s father Alfie – a former Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and Manchester City player – said it was currently unclear if the goal-machine would be back in time for Pep Guardiola’s side to face Liverpool on April 1.
Haaland left Norway’s training camp in Marbella, Spain, to see a doctor in Barcelona that his club has used on previous occasions, before returning to his own house in the Costa del Sol city.
Alfie told Norway’s TV 2 Sport, via the Times: ‘Manchester City has a partnership with a hospital in Barcelona so he has been there for further checks and treatment.
‘Now he has been [in Marbella] for a couple of days with the physio from the club. Firstly, I’m not a doctor and secondly, I think it’s ‘touch and go’, yes. You can’t just go two weeks without training and then jump right into a fight. There must be a progression there.
‘They can gamble on it, but if he doesn’t get proper training with the team, then he won’t play. It is about how he responds to treatment in the next few days. He needs a lot of care.’
Alfie added that Erling is ‘doing well, but he is very sad’ to be missing out on the opportunity to line up for his nation during the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Manchester City host Liverpool on April 1 before travelling to Southampton seven days later – with Pep Guardiola’s men hunting down Arsenal in chase of the Premier League title.
They then have both quarter-final legs against Bayern Munich sandwiched either side of another Premier League test against Leicester City, and will hope to have Haaland back fit for those key games.
Haaland has struck 42 goals in 37 matches across all competitions, including eight in his last two outings before the injury struck.
The Norwegian’s addition to the Man City frontline has been praised by Phil Foden, who said Haaland helped the side ‘find a different way to play’ since his arrival last summer.
And his goalscoring talents have attracted the attention of Real Madrid, who are considering the prospect of paying up to £212m to sign Haaland away from the Etihad in the summer of 2024.