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Haaland is enjoying a sensational first season in English football, following his summer switch from Borussia Dortmund, with 28 Premier League goals already for Pep Guardiola's team.

However, the 22-year-old withdrew from Norway's Euro 2024 qualifying squad during the international window due to an ongoing groin issue, which also forced him to miss City's first training session back in Manchester.

The setback is a major concern for Guardiola's plans for the season run-in with City still in the running for a potential Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in 2022/23.

MORE: Man City vs Liverpool live score, updates, highlights, lineups and result from Premier League match

Haaland was not in the City squad to face Jurgen Klopp's side, with Riyad Mahrez, Julian Alvarez and Jack Grealish lining up across the front three for City.

Haaland's fitness was the first question in Guardiola's pre-game press conference with the Catalan boss hinting at a possible gamble over his top scorer.

"Erling is in recovery. We'll train and see how he feels," Guardiola said.

"The doctors and, especially, the player will see how he feels. Life is risks. At this stage we have to take it."

Despite playing second-fiddle to Haaland, Argentina World Cup winner Alvarez has also enjoyed an impressive debut season at City, scoring 12 times in all competitions.

Following confirmation of Haaland's withdrawal from Stale Solbakken's squad during their training camp in Marbella, Haaland's father, Alf Inge, confirmed his son went to a hospital in Barcelona for treatment under a "partnership" City have with the facility.

He then travelled from Catalonia to spend time recovering in Marbella with a physiotherapist from the Premier League club.

Speaking to Norwegian station TV2, Haaland Sr later cast doubt on whether Europe's outright top scorer this season will be available to face Liverpool: "Firstly, I'm not a doctor and secondly, I think it's 'touch and go', yes.

"You can't just go two weeks without training and then jump into a fight. There must be a progression. They can gamble on it, but if he doesn't get proper training with the team, he won't play.

"It's about how he responds to treatment in the next few days. He needs lots of care and 'knuckling'. There are many sprints [in a game] and there is a lot [of him] to move."

Details over the specifics of the groin injury have not been confirmed by City or Norway, with the latter stating Haaland was suffering from 'some pain in his groin after the match against Burnley (March 18)'.

If Haaland's injury is classified as a groin strain, the window for recovery could stretch between four weeks and three months, but the severity of the issue is rumoured to be towards the lower end of that scale.

Guardiola's update will boost City confidence that Haaland's injury is not as bad as first feared with an international withdrawal not always a sign of serious injury.

Due to City's packed schedule in the final weeks of the campaign, Guardiola will be cautious over his No.9's recovery, with the visit of Bayern Munich in a Champions League quarter-final first leg on April 11 set as an urgent date in the diary. Prior to that game, City visit relegation-threatened Southampton in the Premier League.

Guardiola is expected to give Haaland a break at some point in April to allow the injury to settle, and he will manage his game time accordingly.

City face a season-defining week at the end of the month, with a second leg away at Bayern, followed by an FA Cup semi-final trip to Wembley to face Sheffield United, and a potential Premier League title decider at home to Arsenal, in the space of seven busy days.

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