Haaland requires stitches in face after bizarre incident on Norway duty but OK to play Moldova

By Canadian Press on September 8, 2025.

OSLO (AP) — Erling Haaland is “doing fine” after requiring stitches for a cut to his face sustained in a bizarre incident on international duty with Norway, team captain Martin Ødegaard said Monday.

The Manchester City star posted a photo on Snapchat on Sunday showing the facial injury he reportedly suffered when being hit by a luggage door as he got off Norway’s team bus before walking into a hotel.

“I didn’t see it, but I heard that he got a door in the face,” Ødegaard was quoted by Norwegian daily Dagbladet as saying at a news conference on the eve of Norway’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Oslo on Tuesday.

“It didn’t sound good, but it looks like he’s doing fine. He has a small cut in his face, but other than that it’s fine.”

Haaland wrote on his Snapchat post: “Just got banged out by a bus door. 3 stitches,” and added a laughing emoji.

In another post on Snapchat, the 24-year-old Haaland wrote alongside a photo of himself taking a selfie of showing the wound beneath his lip: “Looks actually quite good.”

According to Dagbladet, Norway coach Ståle Solbakken said “it could actually have gone badly there” in reference to the incident involving Haaland.

Solbakken added that there was no danger of Haaland missing Tuesday’s match.

Norway has won all four of its World Cup qualifying games in Group I, which also contains Italy and Israel. Norway has 12 points, three more than Israel and six more than Italy, which has a game in hand.

Man City faces a big game immediately after the international break, at home to fierce local rival Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

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The Associated Press