Norway's Hansen takes a break from international duty over health issues

STOCKHOLM : Norway forward Caroline Graham Hansen announced that she is taking a break from the national team to rest and recover after dealing with a heavy playing schedule and a heart problem that was diagnosed in November 2021.

The 27-year-old Barcelona player has scored 44 goals in 98 appearances for Norway. On Tuesday, new Norway manager Hege Riise included Graham Hansen in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Belgium on Sept 2 and Albania on Sept 6 but a day later the striker announced that she was taking a break.

"I need to rest. I need to recover. Regardless of how heavy this feels right now, I hope it's not 'thanks for everything', but 'until we meet again,'" she wrote on Instagram.

Graham Hansen was part of the Norway team that crashed out of Euro 2022 at the group stage, suffering an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of eventual winners England along the way.