David Wagner confirms big Norwich City news ahead of QPR | OneFootball

Highlights

David Wagner has provided an injury update on Ashley Barnes ahead of Norwich City’s return to action this weekend.

The German is under mounting pressure at Carrow Road amid the Canaries’ difficult run of form in recent weeks.

A 3-2 victory over Cardiff City prior to the international break ended a run of five defeats in six league games, moving the team up to 16th in the table.

But the clash with 23rd place QPR on Saturday could be a potential banana-skin fixture, where a failure to win could lead to further supporter discontent.

Barnes has missed the last two months of action, with the 34-year-old suffering an ankle injury, with his last appearance coming in a 2-0 defeat at home to Leicester City in September.

What is the latest Norwich City injury news?

Wagner has revealed that Barnes has returned to full training, indicating that he will be available for selection this weekend.

The Norwich boss has also provided an update on the likes of Adam Forshaw, Angus Gunn and other first team players recovering from fitness issues.

"The pain has gone, he's full on in training and it's a big boost," said Wagner, via the BBC.

"We are altogether over the moon that he is back - he has trained the whole week without any issues.

"It looks like Adam Forshaw and Gunny [Angus Gunn] will be back in training next week, Grant Hanley in two weeks, and if everything goes to plan Josh [Sargent] and Ben Gibson roughly in three weeks time.

"We can see light at the end of the tunnel, even if we have to be patient for a few further weeks.

"Every team in the world will have problems to solve if five or six starters, senior players, are out for such a long period like in our case."

Where are Norwich City in the Championship table?

Norwich are up to 16th in the Championship table following their dramatic victory over the Bluebirds before the break.

The gap to the play-off places is now just six points after 16 games, and another win this weekend could reduce that even further, depending on results elsewhere.

Wagner will need a positive run of form in the coming weeks in order to ease the pressure on his position as manager of the club.

Failure to win against QPR could cause further questions over his suitability to bring the Canaries forward.

This is why he will be glad to see players returning to full fitness over the next few weeks.

How important is Ashley Barnes’ return to Norwich?

Barnes is an experienced Premier League player that can still contribute at this level.

Having someone with his leadership qualities out on the pitch during difficult moments will be important to turning the team’s form around.

The forward also provides extra firepower, which is needed given the lack of strong goal scoring threats in the team at the minute.

These players all coming back to full fitness over the next few weeks will all be important to Wagner, as he looks to turn things around at Norwich, with the return of Sargent being particularly important given how well he was performing prior to getting hurt.