Erling Haaland faces a race against time to be ready for Manchester City’s clash against Liverpool next weekend after he was forced to pull out of Norway’s game against Scotland.
The striker twisted his ankle after coming on in a 2-0 friendly win over the Faroe Islands on Thursday, although he carried on until the end.
It is the Norwegian goal machine’s second ankle issue this month after he came off at half-time in the 6-1 demolition job of Bournemouth on November 4, raising concerns he may not be fit to play in the marquee fixture against the Reds.
Relief for City comes with confirmation from Norway’s team doctor, Ola Sand, that the issue is not serious, but ‘he is in so much pain and somewhat restricted function’ that he will be unable to take to the field at Hampden Park.
Norway’s trip to Glasgow for their final Euro 2024 qualifier is a dead rubber as they are no longer able to catch Steve Clarke’s side or Spain in the top two positions.
After the game on Thursday Sand revealed that the recent injuries had left the 23-year-old’s ankle ‘vulnerable’ to further aggravation.
‘It was much of the same that happened against Bournemouth a week-and-a-half ago.’ He told TV2. ‘He has had it before too.
‘He gets a slight twist in his ankle, where he is a bit vulnerable. It hurts a lot right away, and then it goes away pretty quickly. Then we’ll see tomorrow how he is then.’
Haaland has been in terrific form this season and leads the Premier League goalscoring charts with 13 goals from 12 games.
City welcome Jurgen Klopp’s side to the Etihad on Saturday lunchtime with the teams separated by a single point at the top of the standings.
Pep Guardiola is not just sweating over the fitness of his star striker, as several of his squad – including Ederson, Nathan Ake, Mateo Kovacic, and Matheus Nunes – were withdrawn from national team selection and face a race against time to feature.
The Premier League champions will also be without long-term absentees Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones and Sergio Gomez.
█▒▒▒▒▒▒ DISCLAIMER ▒▒▒▒▒▒█
If you have a copyright issue feel free to message me by email (seoncms@gmail.com) and we can get it resolved!
⚠️ I must state that in NO way, shape or form am I intending to infringe the copyright holder’s rights. The content used is strictly for research/reviewing purposes and to help educate. All under the Fair Use law.
Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as Criticism, Comment, Reactions, News Reporting Commentary, Teaching, Scholarship, and Research. Fair use is a use permitted by the Copyright Statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, Educational, or Personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
█▒▒▒▒▒ Connect with us ▒▒▒▒▒█
🔎 Web: http://bit.ly/3ytAUjS
🐦 Twitter: https://twitter.com/247SportsHD4K
▶️ Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/247SportsHD4K
👥