Haaland returns to Norway to attend funeral, misses out on helping City win the Bournemouth Cup vox888

vox888 Manchester City will be without Erling Haaland for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash after the striker was given the green light to return to Norway to attend the funeral of a close family member. vox888

Haaland just came on and scored his 10th goal of the season in a big match that drew 2-2 with Arsenal on Sunday. ( vox888 )

But the 24-year-old will be unavailable for Pep Guardiola’s side’s Carabao Cup clash with Championship side Watford on Tuesday, September 24.

Manchester Evening News, a media outlet in Manchester, reported that Manchester City allowed Haaland to travel back to his home country of Norway to attend the funeral of Ivar Ekja, a close family member whom Haaland respected like another relative. 

Ekja, who was a home teammate of Alf-Inge Haaland, the father of Haaland, died earlier this September. The club initially gave the star striker the green light to fly home, but he decided to sit out the crucial games against Inter Milan and most recently Arsenal before travelling to attend the funeral, which will be held this week.

Pep will certainly make several changes to his squad for Tuesday’s game after a tough game against Arsenal. Apart from Haaland, two other key players who will definitely not be able to play are Kevin De Bruyne and, most recently, Rodri, who picked up an injury in the game against the Gunners and is likely to be out for the season.

Haaland is expected to return to England in time for City’s next Premier League game at Newcastle on Saturday, September 28.