Erling Haaland Injury Update
Erling Haaland’s luck hit a weird patch lately, even for a guy used to defenders kicking lumps out of him. A team bus landing a shot to the mouth was a little unexpected. Right before Norway’s World Cup qualifier with Moldova, the Manchester City striker was standing outside the team hotel, minding his own business and waiting for his luggage, when suddenly, wham, the coach doors swung open and smashed him right in the face.
Not exactly how anyone expects to get matchday-ready! Blood on the lip, a few loud Norwegian words (the kind you probably wouldn’t put on a family fridge magnet), and a quick intervention by Norway’s medical team later, Haaland ended up with three stitches and something new to snap for his fans.
Haaland, who’d just been the matchwinner against Finland a day earlier and probably felt untouchable, showed off his stitched-up cut proudly on Snapchat, joking about being “banged out by a bus door.” @indykaila reported on Twitter that Erling Haaland injured himself with a bus door and needed three stitches while on duty with Norway, but Manchester City confirmed he’ll still be fit for the upcoming Manchester derby.
Fans piled in with jokes of their own, one even teasingly suggested Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard was responsible, and Haaland, playing along like a proper teammate, said, “Correct.”
That’s camaraderie, or just really good comedic timing. Despite the drama (and the image of arguably the world’s best striker losing a fight to a Volvo bus door), the injury isn’t expected to keep Haaland sidelined. He’s still in line for Norway’s next outing versus Moldova, plus the looming Manchester derby for City fans biting their nails.
Honestly, it’s almost funny how you can glide through defenders all season only to get stitched up by a coach bus before breakfast. Makes the beautiful game feel, well, very real and more than a little slapstick at times.
