Erling Haaland dismissed from international duty over injury concerns

The Norwegian FA have confirmed that Erling Haaland has been sent back to Manchester City after doctors found he was carrying a groin injury.

Haaland played 63 minutes of City’s 6-0 victory over Burnley in the FA Cup, long enough to score a hat-trick, but complained of pain in the area after the game.

He left to link up with Norway soon after but the Scandinavian side have now confirmed Haaland has been sent back to Manchester for further treatment.

“Erling Braut Haaland had some pain in his groin after the match against Burnley,” a statement read.

“We hoped that this was just a familiarity that would carry over to Saturday, but after doing tests and examinations yesterday it became clear that he will not make it to the games against Spain and Georgia.

“‘It is better that he receives medical follow-up at the club’, says national team doctor Ola Sand. Haaland thus travels home from the national team meeting.”

Erling Haaland’s injury history

Any injury to Haaland is an obvious concern for City fans, not least because of his tricky fitness record.

While the striker has been relatively fortunate during his time in England, missing just two games with a foot injury before the World Cup, Haaland had numerous issues with former employers Borussia Dortmund.

Between May 2020 and March 2022, Haaland suffered eight different injuries, missing a total of 28 games in all competitions.

The last of those injuries was a groin injury which kept Haaland out for over a month.

How long could Erling Haaland be out?

There has been no formal diagnosis of Haaland’s injury, so as of yet, it is unclear just how long he will be out of action.

Haaland’s last groin injury saw him miss six games across 42 days between January and March 2022.

Which games could Erling Haaland miss?

With a two-week break for the international window, Haaland has plenty of time to recover but fans will still be sweating over his eventual return date.

City will host Liverpool in their return to domestic action on April 1 and then have a meeting with Southampton before their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich gets underway on April 11.

Leicester will travel to the Etihad five days later before the return leg against Bayern in Germany on April 19.