Norwich midfielder Luke Chadwick described his four month injury hell as the 'most frustrating period of my life'. Chadwick is desperate to feature against former club Stoke this weekend.
Norwich midfielder Luke Chadwick described his four month injury hell as the 'most frustrating period of my life'.
Chadwick is desperate to feature against former club Stoke this weekend after a belated Carrow Road introduction during Tuesday's Darren Huckerby-inspired Birmingham victory.
The 26-year-old's late second half outing was his first appearance since a goal scoring derby day debut at Ipswich in mid-November was marred by serious knee injury.
“It's been a nightmare start to my career at Norwich,” he said. “The frustration has been massive but hopefully that is all behind me now. I just want to carry on and have a good career here. I didn't have a debut to remember even with the goal.
“It was a poor result and then the injury. That's all over and done with now. I'm looking forward to the last few games of the season and then kicking on.
“I'd like to be involved against Stoke. I'll train over the next couple of days and I want to put my face in the shop window.”
Chadwick almost pressed his claims for inclusion with an instant goal scoring return against Birmingham.
“I must have shut my eyes a little bit because it went off the side of my head and ending up going to Hucks,” he said.
“I was delighted to get on the pitch. It was brilliant to get back on the bench and then to get on for a few minutes for the first time in a long while.
“The result was great for the lads. We defended so well because we had to hang on in there towards the end.”
The former Potter insists Norwich can repeat the trick against another promotion-chasing outfit tomorrow.
“They've got a strong team and they play a certain way,” he said. “It'll be tough to break them down - I know that first hand - but with the players we've got here we have a great chance of beating them. Tony Pulis is a good manager who gets results.
“They have some good footballers but they also like to play direct so it's a mixture. If we work as hard as we did midweek them we can match them that way. Then we have the players to pass it around and get a result.”
Chadwick signed off his Stoke goal account with a strike in the Canaries' 5-0 Britannia Stadium rout back in October. The Cambridge-born midfielder is not forecasting a second lightening strike.
“That was probably the best we'd played in my whole time there,” he recalled. “Norwich had a few players out injured that day but they started quite brightly. I don't think they deserved to get beat by five. I did get a goal and hopefully I can do it again for Norwich.
“I still speak to a few of the Stoke lads. They're a good bunch and I had a good time up there.
“I'll be wishing them well after Saturday. I'm sure the banter will be flying about. I'll settle for coming away with the three points and they can have the long drive back to Staffordshire.”
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