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Erling Haaland · Manchester City · NorwayDenied

Haaland limped off in Porto: could he miss Manchester City’s trip to Anfield?

By the Data Desk · ·

First reported by beIN SPORTS · 4 OCT 22:00

Erling Haaland was taken off after 67 minutes of Norway’s 2:1 defeat in Porto, limping and signalling to the bench. Norway’s coach says it was a planned change; there is no medical update yet, and Manchester City play at Anfield on Sunday.

Ståle Solbakken told broadcasters the medical staff had always planned to take Haaland off around the 65th minute. He had played three full matches in the previous ten days, and the coach pointed to fatigue rather than an injury.

The images told a less calm story: Haaland walked off with a limp. Neither Norway nor Manchester City has published a diagnosis.

City’s next match is Liverpool away on Sunday, 11 October, at 16:30 UK time.

Our take · Editorial view

Believe the minutes, wait for the scan

Our editorial team reads this as load management until proven otherwise: a substitution near the planned mark after a heavy ten days. We would not price City at Anfield as a team without Haaland yet. Until City confirm his fitness, we stay away from markets built on him, such as anytime scorer, and we will update this story after City’s pre-match press conference.

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Updates

  1. Unconfirmed report Still open. Neither Manchester City nor Norway’s federation has published a diagnosis. On Monday 5 October Dagbladet reported that Haaland held his groin after a sprint before signalling to the bench, and that he flew out of Porto overnight on a private plane. Ståle Solbakken gave no injury update: he said Haaland was already tired against Wales, had only 45 to 60 minutes in his legs in Porto after starting all four matches of the window, and was taking a few days off granted by City (NBC Sports, 6 October). Paul Hirst of The Times reported fatigue, not an injury. On Thursday 8 October Sky Sports still listed him as being assessed for Sunday, and Sports Mole has him as a minor doubt with fatigue. Haaland’s comments published that day were about the club’s verdict, not his fitness. Enzo Maresca holds his pre-match press conference on Friday 9 October at 10:30 UK time; we will update this story with what he says. Kick-off at Anfield is Sunday 11 October, 16:30 UK time.
  2. Denied Update, Friday 9 October: Haaland will not miss Anfield. Asked about him at his pre-match press conference, Enzo Maresca said: “He's good. He's good. He went to Marbella, two, three days off, play golf, recovery, and ready for Anfield” (Sports Illustrated, Manchester City). Maresca described his exit in Porto as a precaution. No diagnosis was ever published, so we close this story as a scare that did not become an injury; Liverpool v Manchester City is on Sunday 11 October.
  3. Denied Update, Sunday 11 October: Haaland started at Anfield and scored in Manchester City's 3-0 win over Liverpool, his sixth Premier League goal in six games (Fabrizio Romano). Doku opened the scoring and Cherki also scored; Gravenberch was sent off for Liverpool. The Porto scare is closed.
  4. Denied Follow-up, Saturday 17 October: a new knock, not linked to Porto, which stays closed. Haaland scored twice in Manchester City's 3-2 win over Ipswich at the Etihad (ESPN), then limped down the tunnel at the final whistle after kicking the underside of Jack Clarke's boot late on, and Enzo Maresca said: “I asked him; he said he was ok. Nothing serious” (Sports Mole). No diagnosis has been published, and City host AEK Athens in the Champions League on Tuesday 20 October.
DeniedThis report has since been denied. We keep the original article and our view as published, with the update above.
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