Haaland still sidelined by leg injury, could miss Norway qualifiers

Berlin (AFP) – Erling Braut Haaland has ruled himself out of Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga match against Augsburg on Saturday and is set to miss Norway’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The striker, who has scored a staggering 68 goals in 67 appearances for Dortmund since he joined in January 2020, has missed the last two games with a leg knock.

“I can’t play tomorrow. I am injured. I’ll be back soon,” the 21-year-old wrote on Twitter Friday.

Norway play crucial qualifiers against Turkey next Friday and Montenegro on October 11 in their bid to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

But it appears as though they will have to do without talisman Haaland, who scored five goals in three internationals in September.

Norway are second in Group G, behind the Netherlands on goal difference.

Haaland missed Dortmund’s 1-0 Bundesliga defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach last Saturday and Tuesday’s Champions League home win against Sporting Lisbon by the same scoreline.

“Erling will be out once again. The pain is too strong, it’s not possible,” Dortmund coach Marco Rose said.

“He tried, but had to stop running in training.”

Rose said Dortmund will welcome back midfielder Emre Can, sidelined by a leg injury since August, against Augsburg, but American teenager Giovanni Reyna will still “need a few more days” to get over a hamstring injury.

Mahmoud Dahoud is suspended after being sent off at Gladbach, but is unavailable anyway with a knee injury.

Dortmund are fourth in Germany’s top flight, four points behind leaders Bayern Munich after six games.