Weekend Briefing: Norwich in crisis as injuries mount

Injury briefing

1 Norwich injury crisis deepens

Norwich's injury crisis worsened last weekend with goalkeeper Ralf Fahrmann (groin) and Jamal Lewis (elbow) suffered injuries in the 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace.

Seven other senior players sat out the Palace game, including Christoph Zimmerman, Timm Klose, Tom Trybull and Onel Hernandez, who are reportedly long-term absentees.

Tim Krul (back) is not expected to be available until after the international break, so Norwich gaffer Daniel Farke will have to select his third-choice keeper, Michael McGovern, for Saturday's home game against Aston Villa.

He could also be without midfielders Alex Tettey (groin) and Mario Vrancic (calf).

Good news is thin on the ground but right-back Max Aarons (ankle) returned for the Palace match and stayed on for the entire game.

2 Leeds United lose two more players

Leeds play a high-intensity brand of football and their squad is getting stretched after midfielder Jamie Shackleton (hamstring) and central defender Liam Cooper (groin) suffered injuries in the 1-0 victory at home to West Brom on Tuesday.

Adam Forshaw (hip) and Pablo Hernandez (muscle strain) will not be available until after the international break, so Leeds will be nothing like full strength for this weekend's tricky trip to Millwall.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa has been open about how he will juggle with his options and is preparing to hand a recall to Luke Ayling, who has not started a game this season.

He said "We are going to play Ayling instead of Dallas and Dallas instead of Shackleton."

Giving details of the starting line-up is nothing new for Bielsa but on this occasion it may hand Millwall an advantage.

Dallas is not used to playing centrally and his inclusion is something Millwall may look to exploit.

3 Derby County counting on Jack Marriott

Derby were bitterly disappointed to concede an injury-time equaliser in Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Barnsley but manager Phillip Cocu had a positive update when he suggested that key striker Jack Marriott could be ready to face Luton at Pride Park on Saturday.

Marriott missed out at Oakwell with a minor hamstring strain and Tom Huddlestone was added to the injury list when suffering a hamstring strain.

Huddlestone is not expected to feature this week but Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett were controversially brought back into the squad at Barnsley.

The duo face a drink-driving hearing on October 15 but appear to be in Cocu's short-term plans.

4 Scunthorpe are short-handed

Scunthorpe are having a miserable start to the Sky Bet League Two season and make Saturday's long trip to Plymouth without midfielder Matt Lund, who was sent off for making a dreadful tackle during last weekend's 1-1 draw at home to Bradford.

Lund' absence has forced a reshuffle in midfield and Scunthorpe could be short of firepower with Kevin van Veen battling to overcome a rib injury and Jamie Proctor (knee) ruled out.

Under-fire Scunthorpe manager Paul Hurst is likely to hand a key role to veteran attacker Jamie Ward, who signed on as a free agent last week.

Ward made his first start of the season against Bradford and caught the eye with a lively performance which included the conversion of a 13th-minute penalty.

5 Port Vale look vulnerable

Port Vale are unbeaten after five League Two home matches this season but they will not be at full-strength for the visit of struggling Morecambe.

Regular central defender James Gibbons serves a one-game ban after picking up five bookings and midfielder Manny Oyeleke is sidelined after suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury.

Oyeleke lasted just eight minutes of last Saturday's 3-3 draw at Leyton Orient and will not be seen for several weeks after Vale manager John Askey suggested the injury was a complete tear.

Askey is boosted by the availability of attacker David Amoo (hamstring), who got through 89 minutes against Leyton Orient and should be fine to continue.

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