Erling Haaland given 'special treatment' in fitness update before Liverpool tie in FA Cup

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Liverpool FC NewsFeaturesErling HaalandLiverpool travels to Manchester City for an FA Cup quarter-final this weekend, and Erling Haaland could go into the game revitalized after the international breakNorway manager Stale Solbakken spoke about his use of Erling Haaland during the international break(Image: Fredrik Varfjell / NTB)Norway manager Stale Solbakken revealed that he is giving Erling Haaland "special treatment" ahead of the player's first-ever appearance at a major international tournament.Haaland – whose Manchester City side hosts Liverpool in the FA Cup this weekend – is currently on international duty with Norway, but was left out of the team for last week's friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam.Solbakken said that his decision was influenced by how frequently Haaland has played over a long period of time, as he said that he wanted to hand the striker a rest before potentially restoring him to the team for Tuesday's friendly against Switzerland in Oslo.READ MORE: Arne Slot set to get huge Florian Wirtz favor ahead of Man City game in FA CupREAD MORE: Mohamed Salah given clear transfer instruction in damning Lionel Messi verdict“We have to take into account the overall load Erling has been under for a long, long time and based on that, we have concluded that the best solution for all parties is for him to get a necessary break now," Solbakken said.“Our conclusion is that it’s best if Erling participates in, at most, one of the matches during this international break, and we think it would be nice if he perhaps gets to show himself in front of the Ullevaal crowd against Switzerland.“It is special treatment precisely because of what Erling has been through both on and off the pitch.“There is a huge amount of pressure on him, and for me it is by far most important that he delivers at the World Cup in June.”Florian Wirtz could also be well rested for the cup tie(Image: 2026 Markus Gilliar - GES Sportfoto)Meanwhile, Liverpool is set to get similar a boost of its own ahead of this weekend's FA Cup quarter-final.Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann confirmed that Florian Wirtz is one of the players that he plans to manage carefully during Die Mannschaft's friendly against Ghana on Monday.“The game [against Ghana] is viewed from a slightly different perspective [to the one against Switzerland]," Nagelsmann said."We need to rotate a bit to manage some players who are returning from injuries or are under a lot of strain.READ MORE: Mo Salah tipped to snub Saudi Arabia as Jamie Carragher offers predictionREAD MORE: Virgil van Dijk 'very worried' as Liverpool skipper avoids Erling Haaland reunion"Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, and Florian Wirtz have had and continue to have many intense matches."I'm not completely blinded by my own ambitions and I'm not going to force it through at all costs. I also need the clubs."Wirtz produced a star performance last week as he was involved in all four of Germany's goals during a 4-3 win in a friendly away to Switzerland, scoring two and assisting another two.Choose Liverpool.com as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.Liverpool FCErling Haaland