Erling Haaland suffers groin injury: How long will he be out for?

Stuart Telford

• 21 Mar 2023 16:29 GMT
• 3 min read

Erling Haaland has withdrawn from Norway's squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Spain and Georgia with a groin injury. How long will he be out for?

Haaland has hit the ground running since joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in a €60 million transfer last summer, hitting a barely fathomable 42 goals in 37 games across all competitions.

The last three of those were part of a hat-trick in City's 6-0 destruction of Vincent Kompany's Burnley in the FA Cup last Saturday - but they came at a cost, with Haaland picking up a groin injury just past the hour.

READ: Erling Haaland at Man City: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2022-23

"Erling took it hard when he realised that he could not fight for the team," said Norway manager Stale Solbakken. "Fortunately, there's still plenty of self-confidence, talent and cohesion in this group to win points in the next matches."

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 19, 2023

Medical follow-up with Man City

"After doing tests and examinations yesterday it became clear that he will not make it for the games against Spain and Georgia. It is better that he receives medical follow-up at his club," added the national team doctor, Ola Sand.

City are yet to confirm how long Haaland will be out for, but he had a patchy injury record at Dortmund before joining City, missing 28 games across his three seasons in Germany.

READ: Secret change in Haaland’s contract triggered by Guardiola

Haaland missed a pair of games for City late last year with a bruised foot, and the Premier League champions will be hopeful of having him back against last season's runners-up Liverpool in the first game after the international break.

City have other options in attack, with Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez the first choice to take up Haaland's role at the point of their attack.

The two are comfortable playing side-by-side should Haaland prove his fitness quickly - something he could yet do with club injuries often recovered over international breaks.

FootballTransfers will update this page as more information comes to light.