Despite the announcement that Tuesday’s match against Plymouth Argyle will be “too soon” for midfielder Marcelino Nunez to play, Norwich City head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has stated that Nunez has returned to training after missing more than a month due to a hamstring injury.
Early in the season, Nunez was a mainstay for Norwich, and he had a strong start to the campaign, tallying two goals in his first 12 games across all competitions, which was equal to his goal total for the whole previous campaign.
Nunez has been out since the first half of the Canaries’ 1-1 draw with Stoke City in mid-October, though, and his absence has come at the same time as the team’s performance has significantly declined.
Although Norwich has lost their last seven games and hasn’t won since Nunez’s injury, they ended a run of three straight losses on Saturday at The Hawthorns with a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion.
The Canaries will return to action on Tuesday night when they welcome Plymouth Argyle at Carrow Road. Currently, they are in 13th place in the table, four points above the relegation zone and seven points above the play-off spots.
An injury update for Marcelino Nunez is provided by Johannes Hoff Thorup.
Nunez has finally resumed training, according to Thorup’s positive fitness update on Monday afternoon. However, he acknowledged that the match against Plymouth would be too soon for him.
“Marcelino (Núñez) returned to training today, and he was beaming broadly. However, Thorup told the club’s official website that it was too early for him to return tomorrow.
After returning from injury against West Brom on Saturday, the Dane also stated that winger Onel Hernandez, midfielder Liam Gibbs, and goalkeeper Angus Gunn will all be eligible for Wayne Rooney’s team’s visit.
“Physically, (Angus) Gunn, (Liam) Gibbs and (Onel) Hernández are all fine after Saturday,” Thorup stated.
Onel was supposed to be available for around 30 minutes, and Gibbs for a little less.
“Gibbs can cover a variety of positions for us and is a fighter.
“The group benefited from our ability to shift the momentum.
“It obviously wasn’t ideal for Onel to play 90 minutes for Cuba and we did not recommend that but that was out of our control and it’s important minutes for him.”
The fitness of defender Jose Cordoba, who was injured and missed the match against The Hawthorns, was less encouraging. Thorup stated that he anticipates Cordoba’s absence to last until early December.
“He will miss at least three games due to some irritation. It’s not the same as the match against Leeds. Thorup clarified, “We hope to have him back for Queens Park Rangers.”
Following his red card in the 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough last month, captain Kenny McLean served a four-game suspension. Thorup is thrilled to be able to use the 32-year-old again, and his return on Tuesday night will help Norwich.
“Just to have Kenny back in the group is great, he is a natural leader, he is one of the best midfielders in the league, I don’t think I could find midfielders in the league who are a better fit for us than him,” Thorup stated.
“With him it’s also the communication, the small adjustments, winning fouls, talking to team-mates, there is all this experience beside the technical and tactical stuff, all the things you don’t see.”
Norwich City’s return of Marcelino Nunez comes at the ideal moment.
Nunez’s return to training is a significant boost for Norwich, even though he won’t be available for Tuesday night’s match against Plymouth.
Thorup will be anxious to have Nunez back in the lineup as soon as possible, but he must be cautious with the midfielder to prevent any setbacks in his recuperation. It is no accident that the Canaries have suffered since Nunez sustained his injury at Stoke last month.
In the upcoming weeks, Norwich will play four struggling teams—Plymouth, Luton Town, Queens Park Rangers, and Portsmouth—and they will undoubtedly be hoping for a strong return from those games as they look to bounce back from a seven-game losing streak.
The Canaries have had a difficult time and still have a lot of work to do to get closer to the play-off spots, but Thorup will be hoping that his team can regain their impressive early-season performance now that the injury issue is beginning to subside.
