Erling Haaland returns to Man City as he continues rehab on groin injury ahead of Liverpool clash

Erling Haaland has returned to Manchester City to continue rehabilitation on a groin injury picked up last week.

The striker, who has plundered 42 goals in all competitions this season, joined Norway for their games against Spain and Georgia but left the camp ‘deeply frustrated’, according to manager Stale Solbakken.

Haaland has been with City’s sports therapist Mario Pafundi as he checked in for medical tests in Barcelona before spending time receiving treatment near the family’s property in Marbella.

Pafundi accompanies the 22-year-old while on international duty to manage any ongoing fitness issues and the pair are believed to have flown back to the UK on Sunday.

The Premier League champions will carry out checks on Haaland before making a decision on his availability for the weekend clash against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium, although the player’s father cast doubt over his inclusion.

Erling Haaland picked up a groin injury last week and has spent time with Manchester City’s sports therapist Mario Pafundi

Stale Solbakken revealed that Haaland was ‘deeply frustrated’ that he couldn’t play for Norway

‘You can’t just go two weeks without training and then jump right into a fight,’ Alfie Haaland said. ‘There must be a progression there. It is about how he responds to treatment in the next few days.’

City will hope the time spent with Pafundi has paid off, particularly given in-form Phil Foden has been ruled out for the foreseeable future.

Foden could be facing up to six weeks on the sidelines following surgery to remove his appendix, with NHS guidance advising to avoid strenuous activity for more than a month.

That would see Foden miss both Champions League quarter-final legs against Bayern Munich as well as up to seven crucial league fixtures and the FA Cup semi-final with Sheffield United.

Pep Guardiola could do without injuries to his biggest stars in the title run-in, with City eight points adrift of leaders Arsenal. 

Haaland’s father, Alfie, cast doubts on whether his son could feature after two weeks out of training

Pep Guardiola will already be without Phil Foden for the crunch tie against Liverpool

The England forward missed the Ukraine clash on Sunday as he underwent appendix surgery

Haaland will not be rushed and his problem carefully managed given he missed six weeks with a groin injury while at Borussia Dortmund last year.

‘Haaland is made of different stuff – he is a rock, a Viking,’ Rodri said. ‘Hopefully his injury is nothing. 

‘He’s scoring an impressive amount of goals. It’s his first year and he’s still adapting.

‘He has room for improvement within the concepts that we manage at Manchester City, but even so it’s incredible the numbers he has.’