Manchester City forward Erling Haaland was absent from Manchester City training ahead of a crunch Premier League tie against Liverpool on Saturday.
Manchester City will clash with Liverpool in a crunch Premier League tie that will define the Premier League title race.
A defeat against the Reds would likely spell doom for Manchester City Premier League title chances.
Liverpool waved their poor run this season to defeat the Premier League champions by a lone goal at Anfield in the first leg.
Pep Guardiola will definitely hope to harvest his pound of flesh against the Reds when they arrived at Etihad hence missing Erling Haaland will be a big blow to the team.
Erling Haaland was called up by Norway for the international break but was forced to withdraw with the Norwegian FA confirming he picked up a groin injury in Manchester City’s FA Cup win over Burnley.
Erling Haaland joined the international break on his best form, scoring eight goals in his two last games before the break.
Erling Haaland scored five goals against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League and a hat-trick against Burnley in the FA Cup.
Before the break, he increased his goal tally for Manchester City to 42 goals in all competitions this season.
The Norwegian goal-poacher was expected to be lineup against Liverpool at Etihad as the Citizens chase up Arsenal on the Premier League summit.
The Citizens are back for the Premier League title challenge with many players reporting back from international duties.
Kalvin Philips, Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, and Ederson were all spotted in training except Haaland.
While updates on his injury has been sketchy, there are reports Haaland must have missed the camera and had went on private training.
Norway sent Haaland back to Manchester City medical team for further examinations after confirming he will not be able to go on with the doubleheader against Georgia and Spain in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Erling Haaland’s father Alfe-Inge Haaland was somewhat pessimistic when asked about the condition of his son ahead of the Liverpool clash.
Alfe-Inge Haaland said Erling Haaland was “touch and go,” maintaining his son may need time to recover and may likely feature in the Liverpool game.
Alfe-Inge Haaland confirmed Haaland has been in Barcelona for medical attention after the injury and has met Physio but his chances of making the Liverpool game is very slim.
“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,” Alfe-Inge Haaland said.
Haaland has 10 Champions League goals in 6 matches for Manchester City. He has 28 Premier League goals in 26 matches, including 5 assists.
He made two appearances in the EFL Cup and scored one goal. Erling Haaland currently leads the Premier League’s highest goal-scorers chart with 28 goals, 7 goals better than second-placed Harry Kane.
