Erling Haaland says he’s ‘finally back’ from injury as Man City star reveals pre-match video game routine

Erling Haaland said he is ‘finally back’ from injury, as the Manchester City star targets a return to the team.

The forward has missed the last 10 games in all competitions due to a foot injury which has ruled him out since 6 December. Haaland has endured a difficult two months and a stop-start nature to his recovery from the injury, which Pep Guardiola confirmed last week was a fractured bone.

But the City boss also said the Norwegian is back training without pain and could be in line to make his return to the side when City host Burnley on Wednesday.

“When he came back after two or three sessions and felt some disturbance, that’s why we were a little cautious after we waited a long time and in December he couldn’t play for a long time,” said the Catalan last Thursday. “We tried to avoid but now he feels good, we’ll give him three or four days and hopefully he can play against Burnley he can play his first minutes.”

Speaking in an exclusive Q&A session on Sunday at the Arndale Centre in Manchester, Haaland said he is looking forward to being in action again soon. The 23-year-old fielded questions sent in from local children at the event to launch Nike’s new Phantom Mad Ready boot pack.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful and I can’t wait to use the boots,” the striker said during the public appearance. “I’ve been injured a bit but now, I’m finally back and I look forward to wearing this boot and hopefully scoring some goals wearing this boot.”

Haaland has scored 71 goals in 75 games since joining City in the summer of 2022 but has identified one area where he is still trying to improve.

“I work on it [finishing] and lately in the last year I have been working on my headers, getting crosses in and heading. I am practising as much as I can and I try to shoot as much as I can in training. I think it’s a good thing to practise.”

In the wide-ranging Q&A, Haaland also described himself as a ‘normal person’ who relaxes before matches by playing as himself in video games.

“I don't have any special [pre-match] routines,” he said at the Arndale’s Sport Direct store. “I try not to think too much before a game. Normally the night before a game, I play on my PlayStation and try and relax as much as I can. 

“I don’t do anything special. I like to score with myself on FC24, that’s about it. I just try and relax and look forward to the game.

“I love to score as myself on FC24, that’s my favourite thing,” he continued. “I play video games and relax and do normal things, stay with my family. People think I do a lot of special things, I don’t. I go home and do the same things as everyone else. I sometimes cook dinner and I’m still a normal person.”

In Haaland’s second campaign in Manchester, it may prove difficult to outshine the achievements of 2022/23, when City’s no.9 broke the record for the most goals in a Premier League season, was voted player of the year, and led his side to a first treble in their history.

“To win the treble like we did last year was quite nice, to be honest,” he reflected. “To win the Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League was a massive thing and a big dream for me. If I have to pick one [highlight] it’s the Champions League. The feeling when I won, that was unreal.

“I want to keep doing the same as I did last season, to score more goals and win more trophies. Now I know how it is to win the Champions League and the Premier League. I would love to do it again. I will try to do my best and I want to help the team to make it happen.”