Well, this is interesting.
Erling Haaland has gone off injured for Norway just one week before Manchester City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool.
And yes, Liverpool fans are going to be watching this one very closely.
Haaland started Norway’s Nations League match against Portugal but was forced off in the 67th minute after appearing to suffer a muscle problem.
Reports say the Manchester City striker requested to be substituted and limped off, with Jørgen Strand Larsen coming on in his place.
At the moment, nobody knows how serious the problem is.
And that is the important bit.
Liverpool fans shouldn’t be celebrating just yet.
But it is certainly something to keep an eye on.
Liverpool play City next Sunday
The timing couldn’t be more interesting.
Liverpool host Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, October 11, with kick-off at 4.30pm.
And Haaland is obviously the last player Liverpool would want to see starting from City’s starting XI.
He’s scored five Premier League goals in five games this season and has been one of the main reasons City have made such a strong start.
So if you’re Andoni Iraola preparing for this game, you’re still planning as if Haaland will play.
That’s the sensible thing to do.
But tonight’s injury will certainly be going into the Liverpool manager’s thoughts.
It didn’t look good
Haaland didn’t simply get taken off for tactical reasons.
He appeared to be uncomfortable and left the pitch in the second half.
Spanish outlet Cadena SER reported that he suffered muscle discomfort and that the early impression was not that it appeared to be a serious injury, although Manchester City will want medical assessments before drawing conclusions.
That’s probably the most important information right now.
There is no confirmation that Haaland will miss Liverpool.
There is no confirmed diagnosis.
And with a full week before the game, there is still plenty of time for him to recover.
But there is now a question mark over him.
And that’s something Liverpool supporters certainly didn’t have yesterday.
Imagine if Haaland isn’t there
I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind that at all.
Liverpool already have enough problems to deal with.
Alexander Isak has returned from international duty with a minor thigh injury, while Cody Gakpo also picked up an ankle problem with the Netherlands.
Liverpool are therefore waiting on the fitness of two of their own attacking players before the City game.
So it would be quite something if both teams arrived at Anfield wondering whether their biggest attacking threats would be available.
That’s football, though.
Injuries happen.
And Liverpool certainly won’t want any excuses if Haaland doesn’t play.
They need to be ready for Manchester City at their strongest.
But there is another reason this matters
Haaland changes the way you defend Manchester City.
You can’t give him space.
You can’t switch off for a second.
And you can’t simply concentrate on City’s midfield because there is always that enormous threat waiting in the penalty area.
Liverpool’s defence has actually become one of the biggest positives of Iraola’s reign so far.
The Reds went into the international break with three consecutive Premier League clean sheets, including that impressive 1-0 victory at Bournemouth.
Virgil van Dijk, Jérémy Jacquet and Ronald Araújo have started to look like a very solid defensive group, with Alisson behind them.
But Haaland is a different challenge.
If he’s fit, Liverpool will need to be absolutely switched on.
If he isn’t?
Well…
That would certainly make the job a little easier.
I wouldn’t get carried away
This is the important part.
Liverpool supporters have seen this sort of thing before.
A player goes off injured during an international game and everyone immediately starts wondering whether he’ll miss the next Premier League fixture.
Sometimes they do.
Sometimes they’re back training within a couple of days.
And Haaland has an entire week to recover before City travel to Anfield.
So I’m not going to sit here and say Liverpool have been handed a huge advantage.
Not yet.
But I will admit that when I saw Haaland being substituted, I immediately thought about next Sunday.
I suspect quite a few Liverpool supporters did the same.
The waiting game begins
Now we wait.
Manchester City will assess Haaland.
Liverpool will continue monitoring Isak and Gakpo.
And Iraola will be preparing for the biggest test of his Liverpool reign so far.
City have started the season strongly, while Liverpool are still unbeaten under their new manager.
That makes next Sunday’s game a fascinating one already.
And now there is another storyline to add.
Will Erling Haaland be fit to face Liverpool?
At the moment, we simply don’t know.
But if you’re a Liverpool supporter, you’ll certainly be hoping that muscle problem is worse than it initially looked.
Because having Haaland watching from the stands rather than standing inside Liverpool’s penalty area would be a very welcome sight at Anfield.
One week to go.
And suddenly, everyone will be keeping an eye on that Manchester City injury list.
By Jamie (The Kopite View)
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