MX23RW : Tuesday, December 24 16:13:55| >> :600:351284:351284:
Dec 21, 2019 at 3pm UK at ​Carrow Road
Attendance: 27,053
NorwichNorwich City
1-2
WolvesWolverhampton Wanderers
Cantwell (17')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Saiss (60'), Jimenez (81')

Norwich defender Ben Godfrey ruled out until February with knee injury

Norwich defender Ben Godfrey ruled out until February with knee injury
© Reuters
The England Under-21 international suffered the problem during Norwich's draw at Leicester.

Head coach Daniel Farke is confident Norwich can cover for injured centre-back Ben Godfrey – and revealed leading scorer Teemu Pukki will be fit for the hectic festive schedule.

England Under-21 international Godfrey suffered a knee injury during last weekend's 1-1 draw at Leicester, but will not need an operation.

Finland frontman Pukki, meanwhile, has shaken off a toe problem, which turned out to be nothing more severe than bruising rather than a fracture as was first feared.

With Norwich battling for points at the wrong end of the table, Farke hopes the squad can all pull together as they prepare for Saturday's visit of Wolves.

"We have some sad news. Ben has a LCL (lateral collateral ligament) tear, so no surgery is required, but he will be out until February," Farke said.

"It was painful for Ben to stay on at Leicester and he mentioned that it didn't feel stable, but he delivered one of his best performances, so it was a shock to discover the extent of the injury."

Farke hopes that with Scotland Grant Hanley stepping up his own rehabilitation after a groin problem and cover being provided by defensive midfielders, Norwich can regroup.

"Grant Hanley has been back in team training for a while, so he is an option for us, but it is not ideal as he has been out for three and a half months," Farke said at a press conference reported by the club.

"We also have Alex Tettey and Ibrahim Amadou who can play there.

"We could change the formation, but whoever is the solution they will be desperate to deliver in a key role next to Christoph Zimmermann."

There was better news on forward Pukki, who scored the opening goal at the King Power Stadium last weekend to take his Premier League tally to nine.

"Teemu is available. The toe wasn't broken, it was just bruised," Farke said. "It was painful for him, but the swelling has gone down."

The Norwich boss added: "I know how capable and full of potential Teemu is.

"He has proved that over a long time, so I'm happy he's able to deliver on a weekly basis."

Farke hopes Norwich can build on the hard-earned point at Leicester to drag themselves out of the bottom three over the final league games of 2019.

"All our performances over the last few weeks were pretty good. I trust my lads and I think we are in a good position to have plenty of games," the German said.

"We had a brilliant win at Goodison Park and a draw at Leicester. We have to pick points wherever we play – and we have three chances in the next fortnight to do that."

Farke added: "Wolves are dangerous on the counters and often defend in 5-4-1.

"They transition well, so it is important for us to be good in possession and avoid giving the ball away easily."

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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool17161042142849
2Leicester CityLeicester18123341142739
3Manchester CityMan City18122450203038
4Chelsea1810263325832
5Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd187742216628
6Wolverhampton WanderersWolves186932622427
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs187563226626
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd186752622425
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle187471824-625
10Burnley187382329-624
11Arsenal185852427-323
12Crystal Palace186571520-523
13Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton185582126-520
14Bournemouth185491925-619
15Everton185492029-919
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham175481928-919
17Southampton1853102137-1618
18Aston Villa1843112433-915
19Norwich CityNorwich1833121937-1812
20Watford1826101132-2112

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