Manchester City are sweating over Erling Haaland’s fitness after the forward limped off during Norway’s Nations League defeat against Portugal on Sunday night.
The 26-year-old had signalled that he wanted to come off with a hand motion during the second half.
His withdrawal comes just a week before Manchester City travel to Liverpool, with their guilty verdict in their batle with the Premier League hanging over them.
The forward was able to walk off the pitch unaided with the score at 1-1, but a 79th-minute goal from Goncalo Ramos saw Portugal win 2-1 in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Haaland started all four of Norway’s Nations League matches in a 10-day spell, scoring in earlier fixture against Denmark and Portugal.
It remains to be seen how much of a headache this could be for City, who also saw Nico O’Reilly withdraw from England duty mid-way through the international break with an injury.
More to follow.
Haaland has enjoyed a flying start to the season, scoring seven in as many appearances for City, who are top of the Premier League with a perfect record.
He did not get much of a summer break, with Norway having reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they lost to England.
His success is partially built on his capacity to play plenty of games without getting injured. Last season he only missed one match with a knock, and the longest injury of his career in 2023-24 did not even keep him out for two months.
