Norway tease Erling Haaland injury worry ahead of Manchester City run-in

It has been a busy period for Manchester City fans, and serial-winning manager Pep Guardiola has been juggling a number of things during this year’s Premier League campaign.

But as football fans up and down the country enter the month of April with the true business end of the campaign now with us, it looks like it will be another successful year at the Etihad Stadium despite Erling Haaland’s apparently more recent poorer form.

Having undergone a rebuild of the first team squad during the summer with plenty of new faces arriving and well-known faces heading for pastures new, there is still work to be done with fans knowing that there will be more departures in the months to come.

Despite an upheaval, the ongoing Premier League charges and almost endless speculation surrounding the future of the Catalan manager himself, the squad have the foundations back in place for sustained success in future and have already lifted the League Cup this term.

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Manchester City, however, remain within touching distance of both another FA Cup win and the Premier League title itself, with a nine-point gap to league leaders Arsenal. Psychologically, advantage is held over Mikel Arteta’s side owing to their history of falling short and the League Cup win.

There is a game in hand to consider against Crystal Palace, and City are still to meet Arsenal in the return league fixture, so the gap could be just three points in reality – and if Norwegian hot shot Erling Haaland finds his form again, advantage truly is Pep Guardiola’s.

The 25-year-old started the season in utterly outstanding form for Manchester City and Norway in international fixtures, but fatigue has caught up with him even though on a domestic basis he still boasts 22 goals and seven assists in just 28 starts for the club.

Pep Guardiola has spoken about managing him and he could undoubtedly do with greater rest, so City fans will be pleased with the March international break, and Ståle Solbakken choosing to rest him for an opening fixture with the Netherlands. Having missed the game, the player was spotted by media visiting Barcelona-based Doctor, Ramon Cugat, taking to social media to share a photo with the well-known knee specialist.

On the face of it, it seems very innocuous indeed but that has not (predictably) stopped the press from speculating about a long term, or newer, more serious injury, that would both explain his more recent form (only four goals in 11 games!) and missing the Netherlands tie.

If Erling Haaland was dealing with a major problem, I doubt he would boast about it and he would also not be slated to play against Switzerland, and would be in Manchester receiving treatment and full rest.

To his credit, Solbakken tellingly barbed that there would have been a reason he went to a doctor, but that it was confidential.

It will no doubt spin the media out further as they go down new rabbit holes, but there are more important things to think about, are there not?