Erling Haaland: Long Pre-Season Key to Injury Recovery and Improved Form
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has credited a lengthy pre-season with aiding his recovery from injury and boosting his overall fitness. The Norwegian goal machine struggled with a foot injury last season, which impacted his form during a crucial period.
Erling Haaland scored 27 goals as recently as last season to win a second successive Premier League Golden Boot, while his tally for City ahead of the 2024/25 season was 90 in 98 games.
But a leg injury forced him to miss almost six weeks in December and January, after which he struggled to return by previous standards with four goals in the next nine Premier League games.
Haaland missed Euro 2024 in the summer, with Norway failing to qualify for the tournament, which was arguably a blessing in disguise as it meant a chance to recover and address lingering issues.
“It was a good pre-season for me – I’ve never felt better. In general, I don’t have any pain in my body which is the first time for a long time,” Haaland explained after marking the opening Premier League game of the new season with a goal in a 2-0 win over Chelsea.
“It’s amazing – you can push yourself more because you don’t have something in the back of your head. I had a long pre-season, I enjoyed it.”
Pre-season also gave Haaland, now 24, the opportunity to captain City in the absence of the team’s senior management group – Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Bernardo Silva – after the European Championship.
“We had a lot of young guns with us and to be captain was amazing, I enjoyed it,” he reflected.
“We have one captain in the team but there are so many leaders in the group. You may not see it, but how calm the defence is and how much confidence they give us, keeping the ball…we have a lot of leaders in this team and I’m so happy to be here. I’m ready to go again.”
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