Erling Haaland is expected to be available for Manchester City's trip to Liverpool despite being substituted early in Norway's 2-1 defeat to Portugal on Sunday. However, City could be without Antoine Semenyo, Nico O'Reilly and Phil Foden for the Anfield clash.
Haaland's early exit explained
The striker was taken off after 66 minutes in Porto, gesturing to be replaced and sparking fears of an injury. But Norway boss Stale Solbakken played down those concerns, revealing the substitution had been pre-planned following 'heart-to-heart talks' with the player ahead of the match.
"Today he played 60 good minutes. He played twice 90 minutes against Denmark and Portugal (first match)," Solbakken explained, via Dagbladet. "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."
Time off rather than injury
Solbakken added that Haaland was not the only player to leave early, saying: "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."
Rather than recovering from injury, Haaland appears to have been granted a few days off to refresh before returning to City.
Semenyo and O'Reilly doubts
City are still waiting on Antoine Semenyo and Nico O'Reilly. Semenyo withdrew from the Ghana squad with an ankle injury, while O'Reilly dropped out of the England squad last week for further medical assessment after completing the full 90 minutes in the Three Lions' Nations League opener against Spain.
Enzo Maresca is expected to provide an injury update on the pair later this week. Phil Foden is definitely out, serving the third game of his ban after being sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in last month's Manchester derby.
