Football League World
·24 October 2022
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball League World
·24 October 2022
Norwich City have received a huge boost to their squad ahead of their midweek clash against Burnley.
According to Paddy Davitt, Sam McCallum has been cleared to re-join full training and he could even be in the mix for selection this week.
This has helped the Canaries’ situation at left-back, where a number of injuries had left Dean Smith’s side short in that area.
The need to get active in January to find a solution in that position has now decreased following this development.
The Norwich boss did highlight some other areas of concern in the team before their meeting with Vincent Kompany’s side on Tuesday night.
He confirmed players such as Isaac Hayden and Dimi Giannoulis will need to be assessed after their first starts in the side since recovering from injury, at the weekend.
“A few fitness concerns,” said Smith, via the club’s official website.
“We’re going to assess a few people today.
“Isaac and Dimi’s first starts for a while, other knocks and bruises as well.
“Maybe we could have got Isaac off five or 10 minutes earlier but he kept giving me the thumbs up.
“He wants to play, he’s a bit of a warrior.”
“Kieran Dowell is one that we’ll assess. He did some bike work but he’s struggling to talk.
“We’ve got Sam McCallum training as well now which is going to be a big boost for us.
“He’s ticked the boxes a lot quicker than we expected with the performance team and they’ve recommended he comes back training with the team.”
1 of 23
John Faulkner Bryan Hamilton Bruce Rioch Martin Hunter
A 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane at the weekend has left Norwich 7th in the Championship.
Despite racing into an early 2-0 lead thanks to a Teemu Pukki brace, Smith’s side were unable to put an end to their current winless run.
They face the Clarets on 25 October, with the hosts 3rd in the table and five points ahead of Norwich going into the clash.
The Verdict
It was important for the team to have the likes of Hayden and Giannoulis return to the starting lineup at the weekend.
During such a tricky period of results for the team, having players return from injury will be a big boost in turning around their form.
Having McCallum back in training could be vital over the next few weeks as it was initially feared he wouldn’t return until after the World Cup.
It is another big game on Tuesday night, with Burnley a competitor for a promotion place this season.
Live
Live