Erling Haaland injured to hand Man City massive blow
Erling HaalandErling Haaland has handed Manchester City a major injury scare after limping out of Norway’s international fixture on Sunday night.
The prolific forward gestured to the bench to be taken off during his nation’s Nations League clash with Portugal in Porto.
Haaland was replaced by Jorgen Strand Larsen in the 67th minute after signalling his discomfort to Norway manager Stale Solbakken.
A painful night in Porto
The match was level at 1-1 when the forward departed, but things quickly went downhill for his country without their star man on the pitch.
Goncalo Ramos struck a decisive second goal to secure a 2-1 victory for Portugal, despite Francisco Conceicao receiving a late red card for the hosts.
It brings an end to an incredibly heavy international schedule for the striker, who had previously played every single minute of Norway’s three prior Nations League games.
Haaland had scored twice in a 3-2 victory against Denmark and also found the net in their initial 2-1 loss to Portugal earlier in the break.
However, he failed to score in a 2-1 loss to Wales before his physical issues caught up with him on Sunday night.
Maresca faces mounting selection worries
This latest setback will cause immense worry for Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca ahead of a crucial Premier League fixture on the horizon.
The league leaders are scheduled to travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on October 11, and their attacking options are looking increasingly thin.
Haaland has been in sensational form, netting seven goals in seven matches across all competitions to help City maintain their perfect start to the season.
His clinical finishing has been absolutely vital to keeping Maresca’s side at the top of the table with five wins from five games.
Yet the manager is already guaranteed to be missing Phil Foden, who is suspended after being sent off for kicking Bruno Fernandes in the Manchester derby.
Midfielder Nico O’Reilly is also a major doubt after being forced to withdraw from the England squad through injury during the break.
Meanwhile, there are concerns over Antoine Semenyo, who did not feature for Ghana during the international break and adds to the growing list of potential absentees.
Off-field battles continue for champions
The injury blow comes at an incredibly turbulent time for the club, who are dealing with the fallout of an independent commission’s ruling.
City were recently found guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought against them, relating to a disguised funding scheme between 2009 and 2018.
The commission ruled that the club hid secret funding exceeding £830million, a decision that City have officially appealed.
In a statement released by the club, Manchester City defended their position and insisted they have done nothing wrong.
Speaking in their official club statement, Manchester City said:
“The club’s firm position is that, on multiple grounds, the opinion contains clear material errors, of law, principle and fact and is unsafe.”
The club also expressed absolute confidence in their legal defence, adding:
“The club is innocent of the accusations made by the Premier League and a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions, relating to this case.”
With legal proceedings ongoing, the club stated they would remain quiet on the matter for the time being.
Explaining their current approach to the legal battle, Manchester City said:
“We will continue to respect due process and are necessarily restricted in what we can say further until all proceedings are complete.”
Maresca must now block out the noise of the off-field drama and find a way to patch up his squad for the trip to Anfield.
