Man City injury news: Why Erling Haaland is given “special treatment” by Norway during international break

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will be given “special treatment” by Norway’s head coach Stale Solbakken during this month’s international break.

The 25-year-old is in high spirits after celebrating EFL Cup glory at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, following the Citizens’ 2-0 victory over Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Haaland was not at his prolific best in the capital, largely coming out second best in his duels with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, but he had teammate Nico O’Reilly to thank for inspiring the Sky Blues to a famous triumph.

Man City’s No.9 has scored just five goals in his last 20 club appearances across all competitions and has been dealing with minor fitness and injury issues in recent weeks.

Haaland was forced to miss Man City’s Premier League victory at Leeds United on February 28 with what was described by manager Pep Guardiola as a “little injury”, while he was also absent for an FA Cup fifth-round win at Newcastle at the beginning of this month.

His minutes were then managed in City’s Champions League last-16 second-leg loss to Real Madrid last Tuesday – playing for just under an hour – ahead of starting and playing every minute of the EFL Cup final five days later.

Haaland to participate in one Norway match “at most”

Haaland has been included in Solbakken’s 24-man Norway squad ahead of friendly fixtures away against the Netherlands at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Friday and at home to Switzerland at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo on March 31.

However, Solbakken has confirmed that Haaland will not feature in both matches, as he has been granted additional time off during this international break.

Explaining the decision to TV2, Solbakken said: “We have to take into account the overall load Erling has been under for a long, long time, and based on that we have concluded that the best solution for all parties is for him to get a necessary break now.

“Our conclusion is that it’s best if Erling participates in at most one of the matches during this international break, and we think it would be nice if he perhaps gets to show himself in front of the Ullevaal crowd against Switzerland.

“It is special treatment. Precisely because of what Erling has been through both on and off the pitch. There is a huge amount of pressure on him, and for me it is by far most important that he delivers at the World Cup in June.”

Man City can benefit from Haaland’s “special treatment”

An extended period of rest for Haaland comes as a boost for Man City before they enter an important stage in their season and prepare for a testing run of fixtures across the FA Cup and Premier League.

Haaland will hope to be fit to feature in Man City’s next match at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals on April 4. He has already scored twice against the Reds this season, and the winners of this tie will progress to a Wembley semi-final.

Guardiola’s men will then travel to an out-of-form Chelsea for their next Premier League fixture on April 12, before locking horns with Arsenal a week later for what could prove to be a title decider at the Etihad Stadium.

A clash with Crystal Palace is yet to be rescheduled, but Man City are likely to conclude April with a trip to Burnley, before facing Everton, Brentford, Bournemouth and Aston Villa in their remaining league games.

Haaland has already scored nine goals against those six teams this season, so having him fit and firing for City heading down the home straight could be key, especially if they were to beat Arsenal prior to this run and remain in the title race.