There is an argument to suggest that Erling Haaland is the best player in the world right now.
He has scored a staggering 20 goals in 14 games across all competitions for Manchester City since arriving in the Premier League and the figure is rising every week.
He combines so many different elements of forward play that he is proving too much for almost every defender to handle.
There is one thing, though, that rivals of City have been clinging onto in a bid to believe that he cannot keep up this form; his injury record.
We’ve taken a look at his medical past at each club before joining City to see if fans of the Citizens have got anything to worry about.
Bryne is Haaland’s hometown club and he was handed a senior start before he had even turned 16.
He ended up making 16 appearances in that season but did not manage to score. He did avoid injuries though, helping him earn the move to Molde FK.
Haaland was brought to Molde by Manchester United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and this is where some within the football world began to take note of him.
During 50 appearances for Molde, Haaland found the net 20 times and also registered six assists. Molde is also where he got his first notable injury.
The Norwegian suffered a ligament injury in the 2018/19 season but he managed to only miss three games which is slightly surprising for such an injury.
This is where the masses began to sit up and take note of Haaland. The move to Austria proved to be a stroke of genius from all involved.
He joined RB Salzburg in the January of 2019 which meant he did not make too much of an immediate splash as he settled into his new surroundings.
In the 2019/20 season though, it all changed. He scored four times in the OFB Cup, 16 times in the Austrian Bundesliga, and a staggering eight times in six Champions League group stage games.
He scored once against Liverpool, four times against KRC Genk, and three times against Napoli. It became clear to all that he was a serious star.
He did not have it all his way though as in that 2019/20 season, he missed five games with four separate issues.
The Norwegian missed two games through illness, and one each from bruising, a knee problem, and an abdominal muscles injury.
The number of games missed is not drastic, but having multiple different issues in a short space of time will concern any player.
Haaland had begun to be linked many of the biggest clubs in Europe, in particular a reunion with Solskjaer at Manchester United.
He opted for more of a stepping-stone move to Borussia Dortmund though with a release clause in his contract, which has proved to be wise.
It was during his time at Dortmund that injuries started to look like they could be a major problem for the now-22-year-old.
Once again moving in the winter, Haaland spent two-and-a-half seasons in the Bundesliga before City activated his £51.2m release clause.
In that time with Dortmund, Haaland missed a total of 28 games. Like at Salzburg, he seemed to suffer from a wide range of problems rather than having one or two extremely serious injuries.
His longest lay-off was seven games, which happened twice. His issues included knee problems, hip flexor issues, torn muscle fibre and general muscle injuries.
Considering his time at Dortmund, it would be remiss to say that Haaland does not have an issue with injuries.
That being said, it is not as if he has been getting the same knee or ankle injury every time to suggest that there is a serious underlying problem.
It could be that those issues were part of his development as a young player and City have got him at the right time to shine.
The other scenario is that he could become a striker in the mould of Harry Kane. He misses a chunk of games each season, but when he’s fit he’ll score an incredible number of goals.
If he can produce at a rate of 20 goals in 14 games when fit, City may not mind him missing roughly 10 games per season through minor injuries.
Credit: 90min.com
