Erling Haaland has quickly become one of Manchester City’s most valuable assets after a fantastic start to life at the Etihad Stadium, but he’s had injury problems in the past that City hope to alleviate him of in the future.
One way they’re doing this is by monitoring his fitness levels while on international duty, hiring sports therapist Mario Pafundi, whose primary role is to work with Haaland domestically, and sending him with the national team to watch Haaland for Norway.
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Noel Whelan has defended City’s decision, saying it makes sense to protect a valuable player who has struggled with injuries in the past. Haaland has played in every game for club and country this season, but he missed 12 Bundesliga games for Borussia Dortmund in 2021/22 and eight in 2020/21, so he needs his fitness monitored to ensure he’s not risking injury.
Whelan told Football Insider: “There’s obviously been a conversation between country and club, to ask if it’s ok to monitor him (and) keep up his fitness levels (while) making sure he’s not doing too much (or) too little.
“You’re looking at your prize possession right now and you want to keep him in good form and to a certain level. It’s not a bad thing to see how players are with the national team – how they train, how they look after their bodies, how they work together.”
Haaland has scored 14 goals in 10 games for City and has scored every goal for Norway in this season’s Nations League, so he’s an important player on two fronts. Playing so much football will put pressure on his body, especially with a history of injury problems, so City are right to pay close attention to his condition.
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