Extent of Erling Haaland injury revealed with Manchester City sweating on availability for Liverpool clash | OneFootball

Manchester City are “unsure” about whether Erling Haaland will be available for their Premier League clash with Liverpool next month, after the forward was forced to withdraw from international duty due to injury.

Erling Haaland was due to be involved in two European Championship qualifiers for Norway during the March international break, with the Scandinavian nation facing fixtures against both Spain and Georgia in Group A.

The 22 year-old has scored consecutive hat-tricks for Manchester City, netting five times against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and three times against Burnley in the Emirates FA Cup.

Haaland has netted 42 goals in 37 appearances for City, becoming the Blues’ top goalscorer for a single season during his maiden campaign at the club.

The Norwegian has started 35 matches in all competitions for Pep Guardiola but missed a trip to the King Power Stadium to play Leicester City in October due to injury.

City are still fighting to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup but face the prospect of potentially being without Haaland when domestic football returns next month.

A statement from the Norwegian Football Federation on Monday announced that Haaland had withdrawn from international duty due to a groin injury, and would therefore return to Manchester City for further assessment.

City remain “unsure” whether the striker will be available for a crunch Premier League clash with Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 1st April, according to Paul Hirst.

However, the journalist reports that Haaland’s groin injury is considered as “not serious” by club sources and that his withdrawal from the Norway national team has been described as “precautionary.”

Hirst also revealed that it is currently “unclear” when Haaland will return to the UK, but that the 22 year-old would undergo tests at the City Football Academy to determine the extent of the injury when he does come back to Manchester.

As well as a notable meeting with Liverpool, City are due to play nine matches during the month of April, with clashes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and the showdown match against Arsenal in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s side trail the Gunners by eight points in the race for the Premier League title but have played one game less than Mikel Arteta’s team.