ERLING HAALAND is battling a persistent ankle problem which flared up again while he was playing for Norway on Thursday night.
And his national team are working closely with Manchester City to work out how they can best manage the situation.
Haaland went down in agony during the friendly win over the Faroe Islands in Oslo – only to then carry on and finish the match.
The national team’s doctor explained it was a similar problem to the one which forced the 23-year-old off during City’s rout of Bournemouth earlier this month.
Haaland – who has 17 goals for his club this season – has travelled to Scotland to continue preparations for their final Euro 2024 qualifier against Steve Clarke’s men on Sunday.
But City’s medic Mario Pafundi – who also works with the Norway national team – is keeping a close eye on him.
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Norway doc Ola Sand said: “It was much of the same that happened against Bournemouth a week and a half ago. 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.”
Norway – whose hopes of automatic qualification are over – will give Haaland a chance to rest up before they face the Scots.
And City will be keeping their fingers crossed as they have a key game against fellow title hopefuls Liverpool straight after the international break.
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Sand added: “Now he will receive some treatment, then there will be peace and rest and then we will see how he is tomorrow morning.
“We have already spoken to City. Erling has spoken to both City and their doctor Mario [Pafundi] already.”
Haaland recovered from the problem against the Cherries and started in the Champions League win over Young Boys a couple of days later.
Norway coach Stale Solbakken is hopeful it can be a similar situation this time, saying: “I haven’t spoken to him [Haaland] today, but I saw that he was walking fine in the hallway.
“Now there is a recovery session, and then he will probably be looked after by Ola and the physios throughout the day. But right now it looks like it’s going well.”
It has been an uncomfortable international break for Pep Guardiola so far – even before Haaland’s scare.
Midfield linchpin Rodri was withdrawn from Spain’s clash with Cyprus as a precaution.
Meanwhile goalkeeper Ederson, defender Nathan Ake and summer signings Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes all pulled out of their national squads.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
