Norwich City Dealt Huge Blow Ahead Of This Weekend’s Clash With Stoke City

Norwich City are facing another injury setback early into the new campaign as Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez was seen on crutches following Chile’s 3-1 defeat away at Uruguay.

The Canaries signed Nunez for an undisclosed fee last summer from Primera Division side Universidad Catolica. The international has been a key man at Carrow Road in the middle of the park ever since joining the club but could be set for a spell on the sidelines.

The 23-year-old was replaced in the 90th minute for Chile in a World Cup qualifier versus Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay and head coach Eduardo Berizzo provided an update on the damage the playmaker suffered [quotes via Stoke on Trent Live]:

“Regarding Marcelino, the recovery times for his sprain will not allow him to make it to tomorrow (against Colombia). It will not be possible for him to join tomorrow’s game.”

Nunez’s Norwich are set to face Stoke City on Saturday but may have to make do without their dazzling Chilean central midfielder.

Norwich City have had a decent start to the 2023/24 season, picking up ten points from a possible 15 with three wins and one draw from five matches played so far.

However, after four games, head coach David Wagner lost star attacker Josh Sargent after the Werder Bremen academy product collided with Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

Despite scoring from the collision, Sargent was stretchered off and is facing months out of action, as confirmed by Wagner in his post-match interview following a 1-0 win over Bristol City in the Carabao Cup two weeks ago.

The ex-Schalke boss said [quotes via GOAL]:

“We still don’t have a clear picture, but what is sure is it’s a serious injury. So we speak more about months than weeks. We have to make a further assessment with him.”

Writer’s View

It’s never good for a player to be on crutches. Nunez could potentially be facing a number of weeks on the sidelines if the diagnosis comes back as a sprained ankle or potentially even worse.

Nunez is an important player for Norwich City and David Wagner so this will certainly be a blow for the Canaries, not helped by the added loss of Sargent just a few weeks prior.