Erling Haaland asked to be taken off in Norway's loss to Portugal but while injury fears have been played down, Man City could be without a number of players for the trip to Liverpool
Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with teammates Antoine Semenyo and Phil Foden after scoring his team’s fourth goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Crystal Palace FC and Manchester City at Selhurst Park
Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with teammates Antoine Semenyo and Phil Foden after scoring his team’s fourth goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Crystal Palace FC and Manchester City at Selhurst Park(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
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Erling Haaland might be available to face Liverpool despite asking to be withdrawn prematurely in Norway’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal on Sunday. But Man City will still be sweating over the availability of multiple players ahead of their trip to Anfield, with one star already ruled out.
The striker was taken off after 66 minutes in Porto, leading to fears he might have suffered an injury ahead of City’s return to club football after he was seen gesturing to be replaced.
However, Norway boss Stale Solbakken played down such a notion after the final whistle, revealing the decision to take Haaland off early had been pre-planned following ‘heart-to-heart talks’ with the striker ahead of their final game in the expanded September/October international break.
"Today he played 60 good minutes. He played twice 90 minutes against Denmark and Portugal (first match)," Sobakken explained, viaDagbladet.
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"He was tired against Wales. That's why we had a heart-to-heart talk yesterday. There we went through what could be the possibilities. He could have played the last 45 minutes against Portugal. There was a discussion.
“But he has very bad vibes and feelings about it. He has experienced being put in the league cup. It hasn't been all over the world. I'm very happy that he managed to dig out 60 good minutes."
He continued: "It wasn't just Haaland who left early (after the final whistle). There's a whole bunch of people leaving now.
"They need a breather. They have been given a few days off from their club.
"But when they have the opportunity to book a private plane, I understand that they do it when they have two or three days off.
“You have to remember that the teams that went far in the World Cup have many players who have had minimal vacation.
"Then it's right to the start of the series and then a mini-tournament. It's an extreme strain."
So rather than fighting to recover from injury ahead of facing Liverpool, it would appear Haaland has been granted a few days off to refresh before reporting back to Man City.
But the Premier League leaders are still sweating over the availability of two players after their own withdrawals from international duty.
Antoine Semenyo withdrew from the Ghana squad ahead of the international break, with the forward struggling with an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Nico O’Reilly was forced to drop out of the England squad last week as he returned to City for further medical assessment, having suffered the issue after completing the full 90 minutes in the Three Lions’ Nations League opener against Spain last month.
Enzo Maresca will likely offer an injury update on the pair later this week, with it remaining to be seen if they will recover in time for the trip to Anfield.
But one player Man City will definitely be without is Phil Foden with the England international set to complete his three-game ban against the Reds after being sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in last month’s Manchester derby.
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