Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to miss Norway games through injury: how long will he be out?

Erling Haaland will miss the start of Norway’s 2024 European Championship qualification campaign after picking up an injury in his club’s 6-0 FA Cup thrashing of Burnley on Saturday. The Manchester City striker had been called up for matches to away to Spain (25 March) and Georgia (28 March) but the Norwegian Football Association have confirmed that he has returned to Manchester for treatment.

Haaland has incredibly scored 42 goals in 37 appearances for City, which includes no fewer than eight in his last two matches. Last week, he found the net on five occasions against RB Leipzig in the Champions League round of 16 and followed that up with a treble against the Clarets at the weekend. Those numbers are made even more impressive by the fact that he was taken off just after the hour-mark in both games.

What injury does Erling Haaland have?

The statement from the Norwegian FA reads:

“Erling Braut Haaland had some pain in his groin after the match against Burnley.

‘We hoped that this would just be a minor issue that would clear up before Saturday, but after carrying out tests yesterday, it became clear that he would not be available for the matches against Spain and Georgia. The best thing for him is to receive follow-up medical treatment with his club,’ said team doctor Ola Sand.

Haaland is therefore leaving the national team camp and returning home.

‘Erling felt bad when he realised he wouldn’t be able to fight for the team. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of confidence, talent, and unity in this group to earn points in the upcoming matches. We will not let our heads go down for one second but we will continue working to ensure we are totally prepared for Saturday and Tuesday,’ said Norway coach Ståle Solbakken.”

How many goals has Haaland scored for Norway?

Despite Solbakken’s words, the news comes as a huge blow to Norway, who haven’t qualified for a major tournament since Euro 2000. Haaland’s goalscoring record at international level is equally as impressive as in the club game, as he has scored 21 times in 23 caps.

How long will Haaland be out for?

City, meanwhile, will be have everything crossed for Haaland to make a speedy recovery from his groin issue, although no timeframe has as yet been given. Pep Guardiola’s side have some serious ground to make up in the Premier League, where they are eight points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. A very tough Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich is also on the horizon and Guardiola will be desperate to have Haaland available for that tie.

City’s next match is against Liverpool in the Premier League on 1 April. They then travel to Southampton the following weekend (8 April) before taking on Bayern in the first leg of the last eight Champions League clash (11 April).