Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is "touch and go" to face Liverpool after the international break, according to his father Alfie.
The 22-year-old pulled out of the Norway squad earlier this week for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Spain and Georgia due to a groin issue. Haaland had scored a whopping eight goals in two matches heading into the international period - but suffered an injury in the 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup quarter-final.
There are now some doubts about whether Haaland will be back to take on Jurgen Klopp's Reds at the Etihad Stadium on April 1. The former Borussia Dortmund man has been recovering with a club physio in Marbella, where he often goes for a short break and on his holidays.
Alfie Haaland spoke about his son's condition and his trip to Spain as City weigh up whether to risk Haaland against Liverpool. However, he also revealed that Haaland "needs a lot of care", hinting the injury might be worse than first feared.
"Manchester City has a partnership with a hospital in Barcelona so he has been there for further checks and treatment," Alfie told Norway's TV 2 Sport, as quoted by the Times.
"Now he has been here [Marbella] for a couple of days with the physio from the club. Firstly, I'm not a doctor and secondly, I think it's 'touch and go', yes. You can't just go two weeks without training and then jump right into a fight. There must be a progression there.
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"They can gamble on it, but if he doesn’t get proper training with the team, then he won't play. It is about how he responds to treatment in the next few days. He needs a lot of care."
Any injury to Haaland will come as a massive blow to City and their chances of retaining the Premier League trophy. The Norway frontman has been excellent this season, scoring a whopping 42 goals in 37 matches across all competitions.
No player has struck more across Europe's top five divisions and he is on route to smashing more records in both the Premier League and the Champions League by the end of the season. If Haaland isn't back for Liverpool, Guardiola will be hoping he is ready to face Southampton and then Bayern Munich.
City face the German giants in the Champions League quarter-final first-leg on April 11, before the second-leg a week later. It is the only major trophy Guardiola has not won at the Etihad and he will be as motivated as ever to win that honour this season.
