Marcelino Nunez injury latest: Chile manager comments, worrying footage, Norwich replacements | OneFootball

International breaks are always a nervous time for anyone associated with a club team in football.

With their best players often away representing their countries, those back at an individual's club side will always be desperate to see their man return unscathed and ready to play their part in competitive matches once again.

Unfortunately, Norwich City seem to have fallen foul of an international break injury.

Marcelino Nunez has been in impressive form once again at the start of the campaign, with the midfielder helping David Wagner's side to fifth in the current Championship standings.

However, the 23-year-old looked to have suffered a potentially significant setback while playing for Chile this week.

Having started Chile's World Cup qualifying clash with Uruguay on Friday, Nunez was forced off in the final minutes of that 3-1 defeat for his side with an apparent ankle issue.

Footage later emerged of the Norwich man leaving the ground on crutches following that defeat to Uruguay, which will inevitably be a worry for those at Carrow Road, given his importance to the Canaries.

So with that in mind, we've taken a look at the latest news around Nunez's fitness after that injury scare on international duty, right here.

Norwich man misses next qualifier

That defeat to Uruguay was the first of two qualifiers for Chile to play over the course of this month's international break.

The second of those came on Wednesday morning, where La Roja played out a goalless draw with Colombia, to give them their first point of the qualifying campaign.

Perhaps not surprisingly given the apparent severity of that injury considering he was on crutches just days before, Nunez was not involved in Chile's matchday squad for that game, ruling out any hope of a swift recovery for the Norwich man.

It remains to be seen exactly how long Nunez will actually be out for as a result of the issue that kept him out of that clash between Chile and Colombia.

Indeed, Chile manager Eduardo Berizzo did little to shed any further light on the situation ahead of that game, simply confirming that Nunez will not feature in it, without speaking about how long the midfielder might be absent for.

Discussing the extent of the injury suffered by Nunez, Berizzo was quoted by Norwich outlet The Pink 'Un as simply saying: “Regarding Marcelino, the recovery times for his sprain will not allow him to make it to tomorrow. It will not be possible for him to join tomorrow's game (against Colombia)".

Potential replacements for Norwich

If Nunez is going to be out for some time, then Norwich can at least take consolation from the fact that they should have the depth to cope with his absence in the centre of midfield.

The likes of Kenny McLean, Gabriel Sara and Lewis Gibbs have all operated in that position already this season, while Adam Forshaw is waiting to make his Championship debut for the club, meaning they do have plenty of options in that role.

Indeed, Nunez has yet to start in the league this season, with McLean and August's Championship Player of the Month in the form of Sara, starting in that area so far, meaning Wagner should not be short of options in midfield, even if Nunez is set for a spell on the sidelines.