Norwich City boss confirms further injury blow ahead of Leeds United clash with 10 absent
Leeds United welcome a threadbare Norwich City side to Elland Road on Wednesday.
Norwich City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup could soon add Amankwah Forson to a growing list of long-term absentees, with the midfielder set to miss Wednesday’s game at Leeds United through injury.
The 22-year-old picked up a knock during his side’s FA Cup elimination against Brighton and missed their weekend defeat at Sheffield United, although there was hope he would return at Elland Road. Norwich’s squad has been stretched close to breaking point since the turn of the year, with Forson one of three players to come off with issues against Brighton.
Defender Jose Cordoba and midfielder Marcelino Nunez also came off in that FA Cup game, while Liam Gibbs, Jacob Lungi Sorensen, Anis Ben Slimane, Gabriel Forsyth and Tony Springett are also injured. January signing Matej Jurasek cannot play until February because of post-Brexit rules while top-scorer and talisman Borja Sainz will serve the third of a six-game ban for spitting at Sunderland’s Chris Mepham.
"We have no new players coming back, so it will be the same group of players travelling to Leeds," Thorup said. “We have no timeline for Forson, it's about when he can manage the pain. It's been difficult for him to stretch the leg and even walk, so it's an injury where we just have to wait and see. It could be two days, two weeks or two months.
"It's about surviving the next games without picking up too many injuries. [Shane] Duffy can normally play a three-game week, and Kenny [McLean] and [Jack] Stacey, so those are the ones that need to take probably a little bit more responsibility.”
‘Exciting’ Leeds test
Norwich’s substitutes bench at Bramall Lane on Saturday had just two league appearances this season between them, with little room for Thorup to manoeuvre come Wednesday. And so there are few worse places to go than Elland Road, with Leeds winning 10 of an 11-game unbeaten league run to take 31 points from a possible 33.
"They are the toughest team in the league,” the Norwich boss said of Leeds. “If we look at them, they are up there on defensive and offensive stats, that's the reason they are top of the table. It's fair to say they are the toughest test for us at the moment, but that's what makes it exciting.
“Say what you want about this, but I think we can beat anyone in the league; that's the motivation I have to bring to the players and I see the same in their eyes. We know it's going to be difficult but it's an exciting test.”
A depleted Norwich could do without handing gifts to their opponents but that’s exactly what they did against Sheffield United, who pressed high to score their opener before a needless challenge gave them a penalty. Similar mistakes will only galvanise Leeds and their supporters but Thorup has no plans to change, despite the challenges facing his squad.
"I don't want a random game, I don't want a 50/50 game,” he insisted. “The game starts with us being on the ball and trying to dominate. We want a game we can control, with less duals and less random, that's the reason why we do it.
"It's a difficult thing to do, it takes a lot of courage and personality. The first thing I tell players when they make a mistake, I look at their behaviour five minutes after, how they react and respond to that. That's what's important."