Erling Haaland withdraws from international duty with Norway due to injury

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has withdrawn from international commitments with Norway this week due to an injury, it has been confirmed.

Erling Haaland came into the national team meeting off the back of eight goals in his last two matches for Manchester City, after his five-goal haul against RB Leipzig in the Champions League was followed up by another hat-trick against Burnley in the FA Cup.

While City will be hopeful that Haaland can play a major role in a hectic and crucial month in April, there will be some element of concern before any of their other players have even kicked a ball during the international break.

In a statement from the Norwegian Football Federation on Tuesday morning, it has been confirmed that Erling Haaland will now return to Manchester City due to a groin injury sustained prior to competing for his country across the next two weeks.

As such, the 22 year-old will miss two UEFA European Qualifier fixtures against Spain and Georgia, as he returns to City for further assessment on the problem sustained at the weekend.

A statement from the Norwegian Football Federation read on Tuesday, “Erling Braut Haaland had some pain in his groin after the match against Burnley.”

Norway’s national team doctor also provided their assessment on Haaland’s withdrawal, “We hoped that this was just a familiarity that would carry over to Saturday, but after doing tests and examinations yesterday it became clear that he will not make it to the games against Spain and Georgia.

“It is better that he receives medical follow-up at the club.”

Norway manager Ståle Solbakken said, “Erling took it hard when he realised that he could not fight for the team. Fortunately, there is still plenty of self-confidence, talent and cohesion in this group to win points in the next matches.

“We are not going to hang on one millimetre, but continue our work to be maximally prepared for Saturday and Tuesday.”

Following the conclusion of the international break, Manchester City return to action with two mammoth Premier League clashes against Liverpool and Southampton as they look to keep pace with the current runaway leaders Arsenal at the top of the table.

Those games are then following by a Champions League quarter-final double-header against Bayern Munich, with a home clash against Leicester City in the middle of the European contests.

Given the early withdrawal from Haaland, Manchester City will be confident that the upcoming two weeks will allow him to sufficiently recover and prepare for April’s club schedule.