Erling Haaland had to leave the national team injured.
Now the Manchester City striker is in a race against time.
Update from March 22, 4 p.m.:
Due to injury, top striker Erling Haaland had to leave the Norwegian national team on Tuesday.
Shortly thereafter, his trainer, former Cologne coach Stale Solbakken, had to defend himself against the accusation that he was resting the Manchester City star for the duels against Bayern.
The national coach told how devastated his protégé was after his groin injury.
Coach reports hotel room meeting with 'dejected' Erling Haaland
Solbakken reported to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK about a meeting with the "dejected" Haaland in his hotel room in Málaga, Spain, where the Norwegians will challenge Spain in the first European Championship qualifying game on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was "deeply frustrated and desperate," reported the trainer.
He even discussed for a long time whether a mission against Spain and three days later against Georgia was possible - but in vain.
Ultimately, Haaland had to “stick to the facts”, as Solbakken put it, even if he “had a bad feeling”.
He replied to the critics, who suspected the failure to be gentle, “If you had seen him in my hotel room at twelve o'clock in the morning, you would understand.
He did everything he could do.” Bayern will probably keep a close eye on the goalscorer's healing process, after all he is the greatest weapon of the upcoming quarter-final opponents in the Champions League.
Erling Haaland injured: Norway and Manchester City worried – does Bayern Munich benefit?
First report from March 21:
Málaga – Many players travel to their national teams for the international break.
Erling Haaland, who leads the Premier League with 28 goals, was keen to continue his run for Norway but the 22-year-old has had to leave with injury.
It's now a race against time for the Manchester City striker, with important games coming up for his club.
Among other things, the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League against FC Bayern Munich.
Erling Haaland |
Born: July 21, 2000 in Leeds (UK) |
Current club: Manchester City |
Professional stations: Bryne FK, Molde FK, RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund |
Internationals: 23 for Norway (21 goals) |
Erling Haaland has to leave before the international match in Spain – he has probably been in pain since Saturday
When the Norwegians play their first qualifier for EURO 2024 in Málaga against Spain on Saturday, goalgetter Haaland will be sorely missed.
The former Dortmunder will also be absent for the second duel in Georgia due to a groin injury, as the association announced on Tuesday.
As team doctor Ola Sand explained, it was still hoped that the matter "would settle down by Saturday, but after the tests and examinations it became clear that he would not be able to play the games against Spain and Georgia." That is why it was decided that Haaland is now “medically cared for in the club”.
According to this, the attacker is said to have complained of pain in the adductor area after the 6-0 win in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup against Burnley, in which he scored three times himself.
Who stays how long?
The contract terms of the FC Bayern stars
Who stays how long?
The contract terms of the FC Bayern stars
Erling Haaland: Will he miss the top game against Liverpool in early April?
Not only the Norwegians, but also the Skyblues now have to worry about their most accurate striker.
However, there is still some time until the first game after the international break, but the opponent is Liverpool FC of all people, with whom Manchester City have fought a bitter duel in recent years.
The odds may be different this season - Man City are just behind leaders Arsenal on eight points and a game fewer, while Liverpool are sixth - but the eyes of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are the focus of attention for all of England.
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Erling Haaland is missing from his national team with an injury.
Should he fail longer, that would accommodate FC Bayern.
© Sven Simon/Shutterstock/imago
Haaland soon against FC Bayern: Munich will look very closely at Manchester
Haaland now has until April 1 to get fit.
However, should the injury prove persistent, it could also have an impact on the Citizens' course of the season.
The first of two quarter-final duels against FC Bayern Munich is scheduled for April 11th. The highly exciting pairing was only drawn on Friday.
A failure of the Norwegian goal machine would be a bitter setback for Manchester City, but the top English club still have three weeks until the game against Bayern, by which time Haaland should probably be operational again.
Bayern will probably hope for a longer downtime, after all, Haaland scored five goals in seven encounters with Munich - but he has lost every game against Bayern so far.
(ajr)
List of rubrics: © Sven Simon/Shutterstock/imago
