Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was spotted in buoyant spirits, along with some familiar faces, for pre-season training on Monday.<\/p>\n
It was hard to miss the gigantic Norwegian who stands head and shoulders above most others around him even before he starts unleashing thunderous shots into nets. While most of Pep Guardiola\u2019s squad are still a long way from Manchester as they rest to recover from the European Championship and Copa America, the towering 23-year-old was in early for medical tests before taking part in a group training session later in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
City\u2019s prolific goalscorer will be celebrating his next birthday\u00a0before the week is out when a threadbare squad are in the United States for four friendlies.<\/p>\n
As one of the biggest brands in world football, While plenty of eyes in the four states where the Blues will be travelling to will be looking to get a glimpse of one of the hottest brands in world football whose appeal stretches beyond the sport, Guardiola will be hoping to be able to rely on Haaland pulling his team through the early stages of the season as it may take a while for the whole squad to get back up to speed as they return later than normal after their international commitments.<\/p>\n
City will indeed need Haaland to be at his best to replicate the sizzling form he displayed in his astonishing first season with the Sky Blues although injuries dragged him down a little last year.<\/p>\n
Haaland shared a picture of his first day back at training with him and Mario Pafundi, the City physio who\u2019s primary task is to ensure the striker recovers as quickly and as well as possible between games. Pafundi had also been assigned to accompany Haaland to the Norwegian national team over the last few years in an effort to avoid any issues.<\/p>\n
If City are to see Haaland at his best in the early stages of the season, Pafundi has a central role to play to ensure that the No.9 can hit the ground running to hit his best form after some time off-pitch without breaking down.<\/p>\n
While hardly anybody may remember the physios once the season gets started, yet if Haaland can rapidly strike form for an immediate impact on the pitch, then the work of Pafundi and the performance team behind the scenes will have been priceless.<\/p>\n
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