Erling Haaland won’t feature for Norway in their Euro qualifiers this month due to injury. The superstar striker suffered a seemingly minor groin blow during Manchester City’s FA Cup game with Burnley. Haaland netted a hat-trick for the club before being substituted after 63 minutes. The reigning Premier League champions won Sunday’s game 6-0.
Norway team doctor Ola Sand confirmed the setback on Tuesday.
“After doing tests and examinations yesterday, it became clear that he will not be taking part in the games against Spain and Georgia,” Sand said. “It’s better that he receives medical follow-up at his club. »
Striker scores for the fun at City
Haaland is currently in the middle of a historic season. The 22-year-old striker has scored an incredible 42 goals in just 36 total games for City. He has already broken the club’s Premier League goalscoring record for a season of 38 games. Now he is just four goals behind Mohamed Salah’s modern Premier League record of 32 goals in a campaign. City still have 11 top-flight games on the schedule.
In the Champions League, he equaled a record five goals in one game as City beat RB Leipzig, 7-0.
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken revealed Haaland was disappointed with the injury. “Erling struggled when he realized he couldn’t fight for the team,” Solbakken said. “Fortunately, there is still a lot of self-confidence, talent and cohesion in this group to earn points in the next games. »
Injury forces Haaland out of Norway squad, where he is also fit
Haaland has also performed well for his country compared to his club. In fact, the striker already has 21 career goals in just 23 appearances for the Norway senior team. He had already made his national team debut in September 2019 and only needed three games to score his first goal. Haaland and Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard have formed a powerful partnership for Norway.
Nevertheless, the Scandinavians will now face a tough Spanish side without their star striker. Norway travel to Malaga to face Spain on March 25. They will then have to make the trip to Georgia three days later. The next matches are the first round of matches for the Euro 2024 qualifying process.
PHOTO : Images IMAGO / PA
