Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has eased fears about his fitness and declared he is fit to play in Norway's friendly with Czech Republic.
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Haaland assuages injury fearsStriker seen limping in training sessionMan City star reveals Guardiola warningWHAT HAPPENED?
The prolific forward was seen limping during a training session with the national side on Tuesday but at Thursday's press conference he insisted he was fine to play for his country. Haaland denied that he had to withdraw from the training session and also revealed that Pep Guardiola had given his players a stern warning before they travelled off on international duty.
AdvertisementWHAT HAALAND SAID
"I feel good and am ready to play the match," Haaland told a press conference. "I'm feeling fine. I didn't walk off the training. I don't know who wrote that. I trained a full training session. [Pep said] 'if one of you comes back not fresh, I will come after you,' and smiled."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Haaland withdrew from the last Norway squad in November and missed a Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland after injuring his foot in a friendly against Faroe Islands. However, days later he played for City in the Premier League against Liverpool. Guardiola had said last Saturday he hoped Norway would tread carefully with his star striker. "He is not my player anymore from now on, what they will decide will be fine," the City manager said. "They know that they fought a lot and train a lot, a lot of adrenaline and concentration to arrive in this position."
DID YOU KNOW?
Haaland is scoring at a much lower rate this season than in his incredible debut campaign for City but is still the leading marksman in the Premier League with 18 goals. He is also the joint-top scorer in the Champions League with six efforts to his name.
