Erling Haaland's father sends warning to Man City over groin injury return
By Tom Gott
The father of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has admitted it will be 'touch and go' whether the Norwegian will be fit to face Liverpool after the international break.
Haaland injured his groin in the FA Cup victory over Burnley earlier this month and was sent back from the Norway camp after doctors realised the issue was bad enough to keep him out of the team's two games.
Now, Haaland's father, Alf-Inge, has revealed that the striker is being monitored closely in hospital and warned City against rushing him back to action.
“Manchester City has a partnership with a hospital in Barcelona so he has been there for further checks and treatment,” the senior Haaland told TV2. “Now he has been here [Marbella] for a couple of days with the physio from the club."
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Asked whether Haaland will be ready to face Liverpool on April 1, Alf-Inge admitted it will be 'touch and go'.
“I’m not a doctor but you can’t just go two weeks without training and then jump right into a fight," he added. "There must be a progression there.
"They can gamble on it, but if he doesn’t get proper training with the team, then he won’t play. It is about how he responds to treatment in the next few days. He needs a lot of care.”
City are chasing Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table and will return from the international break eight points behind the Gunners, who have played one game more than Pep Guardiola's side.
With a potentially tricky visit from Liverpool on the cards, City will be keen to get Haaland back as soon as possible, although they will want to protect the Norwegian ahead of the Champions League quarter-final against a Bayern Munich side who almost certainly will not be managed by Julian Nagelsmann by the time domestic football returns.
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On this edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders, Graeme Bailey & Toby Cudworth discuss the race to sign Jude Bellingham, Antonio Conte's Tottenham future, Roy Hodgson's return to Crystal Palace, Erling Haaland's contract, Mason Mount & more!
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!