Manchester City took a big hit when their star striker Erling Haaland hurt his ankle while playing for Norway. In the 74th minute of Norway’s 3-2 win over the Faroe Islands in a friendly on September 7th, the player got hurt.
When Haaland tried to block a high ball, he fell badly on his right ankle. He clearly was in pain when he went down, and he got medical help right away on the pitch. The medical staff then helped Haaland leave the pitch, but he couldn’t put any weight on his hurt ankle.
After the game, Norway’s boss Stale Solbakken said that Haaland was having trouble with his ankle. Initial scans did not show any major damage to the ligaments, but more tests would be needed to fully understand the injury. Haaland used crutches to help him leave the stadium.
Manchester City would suffer a huge loss if they lost Haaland for any amount of time. The Norwegian, who is 22 years old, has been in great shape since joining City in the summer. He has scored 20 goals in just 13 games across all categories. His ability to score goals has been a big part of City’s good start to the season.
The worst case scenario for City gets worse because they have a big Premier League game against rivals Liverpool on October 16th. If Haaland doesn’t play against Jurgen Klopp’s team, it could change the outcome of what is supposed to be a close title race. As soon as possible, City will hope that their number nine can get back. They still have important home and away Champions League group stage games coming up in the next few weeks.
City will be looking forward to getting a full report and hearing when Haaland will be better. The club’s medical staff will do more tests when they get back to Manchester to see if he has tendon damage or something more serious. Even if scans are positive and don’t show any major ligament tears, Haaland may still have to miss a few weeks of play to heal from any sprains or bruises that happen as a result.
Norway will also be careful not to send Haaland back too soon because the 2022 World Cup is coming up in November and December. They will put Haaland’s health first so he can play in the World Cup. This means that City might not be able to use their star player for the next month, which would be very bad for their title hopes. In general, it’s a terrible situation for both the club and the country.
